I just couldn't resist getting this picture. It's really not something you see everyday. Usually there is a line for the ladies room, but today there was a line for the men's room.
We must have crossed over to some sort of parallel universe upon entering the park on our way out of Tombstone.
We decided to take a trip to Tombstone today. It was a nice day and the drive wasn't too bad. We even found a shortcut that made it even more worthwhile.
I visited Tombstone when I was little and never got the chance to go back. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go back especially since we live so close!! The kids really seemed to enjoy the old west atmosphere! Lots of pictures and a short movie at the end, Enjoy!
a re-enactment of the fight at the OK Corral. It was really fun to watch!
Our faithful and loving Charlie was killed yesterday by a neighbor's pit bull. I only found out this morning. Daddy emailed me. The dog got into the yard and followed Charlie into the house (through the doggie door) and killed him. It has been very hard to deal with today. He was such a sweet dog and such a great companion. We got him from our Stake President's daughter in law 15 years ago just a few weeks after he was born. I hate being so far from my parent's right now.
Daddy buried him under the dogwood tree in their back yard. Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows how much I love that dog. I have pictures of him in our house. It broke my heart when I heard this news. The dog that killed our Charlie has since been put down. It is a very sad day indeed.
I'm so excited that it's back on! I have loved this show and it has yet to disappoint. I'm so glad I have this to watch since all (2 of them) my regular shows are on summer hiatus right now.
Looks to be a decent season!!
Seth even watched it with me tonight and has decided that he wants to take dance lessons!! (Dan says dance classes will help him become more agile on the football field!)
It doesn't seem like it's already been a whole school year, but here we are, the last day of school. Seth has been beside himself all day and no doubt he's having a grand time today. It's a half day which also helps in the buildup of excitement. He's getting so big........
This is from the first day of school.
what a difference from then to now!
It's official. We have hit summer and we've hit it hard. The last 2 days we've gotten up to 100. It was still 96 degrees at 645 last night! Ug....I was hoping to wait until at least June before turning on the swamp cooler. Well that didn't happen and we had to turn it on Monday. There goes the electric bill..........blah!
Don't you just love southern Arizona??
So this past Friday was my birthday. Hooray for birthdays. Actually it came and went without much fanfare!
I got myself some chocolates (yep from Target-can you tell that I just love this store? HAHA). It's the first time I've tried this Choxie brand. They weren't that bad. There were a couple of flavors that I could have done without, otherwise they were good. Then we went out to eat at a mom and pop style (home-cooking) and it was ok. We waited like an hour just to get our food and the place wasn't even that busy. Bummer. Then the food was ok. Our waitress was super nice though so that helped. If the help had been bad too I think I would have just died. Then we came home to rented movies. Me, Keegan and Dan all fell asleep before the BACKYARDIGANS was even over. Didn't even make it to our movies. Oh well.
Then yesterday I baked myself a small birthday cake. Once again, it's more practice. I saw a picture of a small cake that I liked and tried to recreate it.
I made a few changes but I think the overall affect was there. I made a devils food cake and torted it and then filled it with a cheesecake cream filling. I seriously can't wait to dive into it tonight after FHE. YUM!!!
I've seen these commercials for the Silk soy milk. They claim that it tastes really good. So I thought i'd give in and give it a try. I wasn't ready for the plain so I found the chocolate soy milk. Of course I completely failed to notice that it was "light" until I got home. Oh well. So I tried it and gave some to the kids. They LOVED it. It actually wasn't that bad. You could for sure tell that it wasn't regular milk, but it wasn't bad at all. It is something that I am willing to try again. Next time though I think i'll try the plain or vanilla flavored.
Target has the greatest deals. I found these bubble wands for $1 and couldn't resist. They were a hit!!!!
We had lots of fun!
I had a great Mother's Day this year. Luckily we go to church at 1pm so we were able to spend the whole morning together. I got a yummy breakfast in bed (oatmeal, eggs, toast and a smoothie YUM!) that the boys helped Dan make and then they surprised me with a beautiful necklace. Seth apparently helped pick it out.
It really was a surprise since I had been talking about needing a larger food processor. I was half expecting that. Funny!
But I have to say I have the greatest kids and I love them so much!
I just have to share!!!! This book is amazing. For those out there with fussy (or terribly picky) eaters this is great. The book has ideas for sneaking in the veggies by pureeing them. I bought some fresh veggies (spinach, zucchini, and sweet potatoes-i'm starting out slowly) and then I have already pureed some of them. I put them in 1/4 C amounts and froze them. The book suggest just putting the whole puree into a freezer bag, but I thought this way might be easier. It's the whole portion control thing. Anyway...once they are frozen and in freezer bags I just pull out what I need when I need it. I do suggest that if you are doing zucchini that you can do some with the skins and some without, with the skins it turns really green, may not be so green without the skin. But just cut up your veggies, stem them for a few minutes and then hack the devil out of them in your blender or food processor.
So now that you have the nitty gritty of it, I tried cooking with them last night. We just had the standard fish with boxed macaroni and cheese. I used the velveeta shells and cheese kind last night. So I took out a 1/2 C worth of the sweet potato puree (since I was using 2 boxes) and added it when I added the cheese. It added a hint of sweetness and the kids never knew it was in there. Believe me I wasn't going to tell them either! Why spoil the fun? haha But they lapped that stuff up like no tomorrow!!! It was great.
There are recipes in the book you can follow or just add it to some of the food you regularly prepare. Next I may try the brownie recipe that calls for a spinach puree. Sinful yet so good for you!!! Share any success stories you have!!
(thanks mema and papa for finding the book and sending it to us!!!)
I would never have believed had I not seen it. It really does rain outside of monsoon season here in AZ!! Who would have thunk it???
When we moved here we found out that we had some friends that we knew from Ft. Bragg. We were excited to find out that there were here! Yeah! Someone we know!! Sadly they are moving. Jeromy just finished WOCS and will be heading for Ft. Lewis, Washington. Bummer....but we were able to spend tonight with them and we had a great time catching up and just having fun. All the kids bonded instantly and ran all over the place playing hide and seek and just having fun. I loved it!!! Thanks for the friendship! Good luck in Washington and we'll see you soon!!
Jeromy, Brenton, Bekah, & Pam
Ohhhh moon pies. One of my favorite things growing up. I didn't get them very often, but often enough to fall in total and unbelievable love with them. So good!! So when we moved and couldn't find them anywhere my gracious parents have decided that every few months to send us some. Of course the kids like them too now so they aren't just for me and Dan. I'm actually trying not to eat most of them since I'm trying to lose weight. However....you just can't resist it's ooey gooey goodness. There just isn't anything better. Of course the boys call them "moon cookies" and I just love hearing that. And since I just love all things southern I had to post my feelings about the moon cookie! :D
Thanks mema and papa for sending them!! We promise not to eat them all in one sitting!
This is the feel good story of the week (if not for a long time!). I heard about this on the radio this morning on my way to the grocery store. I just happened to change it to the station and the DJ was talking about this story. It will really touch your heart. (needless to say I came home and looked it up so I could share it). It's a bit long, almost 6 minutes, but worth the watch!
This is the best example of sportsmanship I think I have ever seen!
"Plans to build two new temples in Gila Valley and Gilbert, Arizona, were announced today by Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This will bring the total number of temples to 139 already in operation or in the planning and construction phases.
“It is my personal priority to make sure members of the Church have access to the blessings of the temple,” said President Monson. “It is here where members learn of their divine origin and destiny, where they are strengthened spiritually as individuals and as families. Temples are sanctuaries from the storms of life.” April 28, 2008" LDS.ORG
Mesa TempleI usually hate commercials. Meaning if a commercial comes on the channel gets changed. Seriously not fond of them. However I saw this one for the first time the other day and loved it. I really like the movie (NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY) that it's making fun of. It's a great commercial!!
You just have to move with the song when it comes on, you can't help it!
This is what happens when a) you don't feel good and b) there are tons of things you should be doing and you find yourself sitting in front of the computer because you don't want to do any of them.....
I found out when the new HARRY POTTER movie will be released. I'm super stoked about it!!! November 21, 2008. Deep inside my head I knew it would be out this year, but i've been so engrossed in the new TWILIGHT movie that I really didn't think about it. But I am just as big of a Harry Potter nerd as I am a Twilighter. So here's my ode to the 6th movie, once again I will be going opening night for this one! And here is some insights to the new movie!! Everyone get excited with me now!!! AAAHHHH!!!!!
I watched the new version of Pride and Prejudice the other night (all 3 hours of it). It was really good and ended up going to bed really late. So today I was dorking around on the computer looking for random stuff and I came upon a list of quizzes you could take. So I took this one. It was fun. Interesting that I watched the movie the other night and this is the heroine I ended up with.
Ahhhhh..... Mr. Darcy.................
