Wanna See What's Been Cooking in My Kitchen Lately?

Blackberry Cobbler...delicious!!
Chicken Cacciatora...so good!
Chicken Purses...these have lemon zest in them and they are SO good!
Enchilada Casserole...I think this picture speaks for itself!
Frozen Lemonade Delight...Oh my!
I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately, and thought I'd post just a few of them here for you all to see. I thought about adding the recipe to go with the picture, but decided not to...however, if something catches your eye and you'd like the recipe, just email me or leave a comment here and I'll be happy to get it to you! It's been a lot of fun making and EATING so many new and wonderful things, and my family is pretty happy about it too.

Back to School

Ashley and Rachel started back up at school last week (Sept.2), and all went well. Ashley is in 2nd grade and Rachel is Kindergarten...Ashley does her school work in the dining area and Rachel does hers at the kitchen table. I've decided to try year round school this year because I know a lady who does it and she said she would never go back to having all summer off...so I figure it's worth a try. I think we're really going to like it though because we get to take the last week of every month off, which will be really nice. And of course we'll have the regular breaks throughout the year, just not as long, especially during the summer. We begin our mornings between 8:30-9:00...Ashley begins her school day by reading her Bible and doing her spelling... meantime, Rachel and I are having a Bible story, doing a math lesson, a reading lesson, and some letter writing. After which, Rachel goes and watches a Signing Time video while I finish school with Ashley. I wasn't sure how things would go having to teach both of the children, but it's working out really well so far...(finger's crossed!)

Labor Day Weekend

The long awaited visit from the Myers finally came...and went. They got here on Friday afternoon around 2:30 and stayed thru Monday morning. We were joined Friday evening by the Moreno's for dinner and visiting, and Saturday Elizabeth and I took all of the children for a walk. It was funny because we started out with six children and had to keep taking them back to the house one at a time for one reason or another...until finally the only child we had was Nathon, and the guys were stuck with all the rest!! That night we just visited some more and enjoyed a nice evening at home. And on Sunday we went to church, and afterwards we were joined by the Moreno's and Dari's sister's family. We all played Apples to Apples (that is such a fun game) and once everyone left and we got the kiddos off to bed, the four of us played Settlers. No need to guess as to who won...JONATHON!! Monday morning came all too quickly, and after the children put on a skit of Cinderella for the grown-ups, the Myers were off. It was sad, but we're already looking forward to a visit to their house after Elizabeth gives birth to Alan.

Cinderella "Skit"

Saying Good-Bye to the Moreno's

VBS WEEK 08

This was VBS week at our church and it went really well. Our church held it at night for the first time ever, and I think it was a great success. Dinner was prepared for all of the helpers and families, which was a big blessing. Also, those who normally don't participate with VBS because of their jobs were able to help out this year, including my missions partner, Carole. All of the children involved had a wonderful time...they were so much fun! The week ended with parents being invited to attend on the last evening to watch the children dance and sing to some of their songs, and a short video of the week was shown. Here I have a little clip of Ashley & Rachel during their songs.

Summer Reading Program

Ashley and Rachel were involved in this year's summer reading program at the local library. They started about half way through because we were busy doing a lot of traveling the first part of the summer. Ashley's goal was to read the 50 books required to get her t-shirt...and she accomplished her goal! I have a very short clip of her recieving that, and also of her getting a prize for her name being drawn in a drawing. I am very proud of her, she has come a long way with her reading...she has always been a good reader, but not too excited about it, and this program had her reading books all of the time. Rachel "read" some books for the program as well, and I took advantage of her reading time by having her read out of the book I'm using to teach her to read. The other clip I have here is of Ashley and her friend Tess playing the toss the water balloon game.

First Ride With Papa!!

Ashley and Rachel finally got to go for a ride on Papa's motorcycle...momma hasn't even done that!! They were really excited and had a lot of fun!! It's mommy's turn next!

Ashley & Papa

Rachel & Papa
And their off...

Ashley First...then Rachel!!

Trip to Utah (Hill AFB)

Hiking near Ogden
Outside of the Gateway in Salt Lake City
Ashley enjoying the "geysers"

We are back from yet another trip...this has been our busiest summer ever, but we are having a great time! Larry took an aircraft management class at Hill AFB, and the girls and I were able to tag along. It was a nine day trip (including travel days)...we stayed overnight in Denver going to and coming back. While at Hill, we made a trip into Salt Lake City to have dinner at one of our old favorites, the Old Spaghetti Factory, it was delicious! And then we did a little walking around at a huge outdoor shopping area there called the Gateway...Ashley really enjoyed getting wet in their "geysers". We also took the girls hiking on a trail that Larry and I used to love going to when we lived there before moving to Clovis, Ashley and Rachel really loved that. The girls and I spent our days going on "adventures" walking around the base, some days were spent at the pool or the park. We were so glad to have been able to go along with Larry and make a "vacation" out of it, but also very happy to be home.

Hiking and swimming in Utah!