Update

Well it is probably time that I did an update. Things have been going well for us. Busy but well.
I am busy watching three children, besides mine own, during the day. Terry is busy with work and his Masters, so we don't have much time to spare. That is why I haven't made too many posts lately. I will try and make at least one post a month

I have been watching Abbie get more and more crowded in her toddler bed. She has at least four blankets she has to take to bed with her. Not to mention the 10 or so stuffed animals she has. So Terry and I decided on Riley's birthday we would move Riley to the top bunk and move Abbie out of her toddler bed into the bottom bunk. Well the other day while I was cleaning up the kids room, I decided I would start cleaning off the top bunk to make sure I had a place to store everything. The next thing I knew we were making a trip to Home Depot to purchase some wood to make a railing so Riley didn't roll off. It made for a very hectic day. The kids had fun though and Abbie slept a lot better last night with more room. Riley thinks it is fun to sleep on top and says that the monsters and ghosts can't find him now.

Whats For Dinner!

Well my sister inspired me to try something new for dinner. Lately I have gotten in a rut of making the same old meals, well all that changed last night. After reading my sisters blog about cooking, I decided to go through some of my old cooking magazines and find some new recipes to try out over the next couple of months (about a new recipe a week, just to change things up a bit). I actually found some pretty fun looking recipes. There was this one recipe, or I should say four, that just jumped out at me. It was a whole meal. I just had to try it, so I went to the store that night and bought all of the ingredients. It was one of the best meals I have had in a while. Terry loved it, of coarse he isn't a good example because he will eat just about anything, but my kids enjoyed it as well. I differently will be making this meal again.
Here is the Menu!!!!!!!!!!
*Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin (tribute to you Beverly)
plan ahead.......needs to marinate
1/2 C. Soy Sauce
1/4 C. olive oil or vegetable oil
4 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger (I used only 1 tsp)
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 pork tenderloins (3/4 to 1 pound each)
coarsely ground pepper, optional
-In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first six ingredients; add pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 4 hours, turning occasionally. Drain and discard marinade. Grill the tenderloins, covered, over indirect medium heat for 8-9 minutes on each side or until meat juices run clear and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Sprinkle with pepper if desired. Yield:8 servings
It took forever to grill the whole tenderloin. I ended up cutting it in to wedges.

*Sweet-Sour Broccoli Salad
plan ahead........needs to chill
4 C broccoli florets
1 C peanuts
1 C raisins
1/2 C chopped onion
1 C Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
-In a bowl, combine the broccoli, peanuts, raisines and onion. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar; pour over vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Yield: 8 servings.
This was delicious. I have been think about a way to make it more healthy. I think next time I will make it with plain yogurt and splendid. We will see how it turns out.

Pesto-Corn Grilled Peppers
ready in 30 mins or less
1/2 C plus 2 tsp olive or vegetable oil, divided
3/4 C grated parmesan cheese
2 C tightly paced fresh basil (or about 1-2 tsp dried)
2 Tbsp sunflower kernels or walnuts
4 garlic cloves
1/2 C finely chopped sweet red pepper
4 C whole kernel corn (I used frozen sweet white corn)
4 Medium sweet red, yellow, or green peppers
1/2 C shredded Parmesan Cheese, optional
-For pesto, combine 1/2 C of oil, greated Parmesan cheese, basil, sunflower kerneals and garlic in a ablender or food processor; cover and process until blended. In a skillet, saute red pepper in reamining oil until tender. Add corn and pesto; heat through.
Halve peppers lengthwise; remove seeds. Place, cut side down, on grill voer medium heat; cover and cook for 8 minutses. Turn; fill with corn mixture. Grill 4-6 minutes longer or until tender. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese if desired. Yield: 8 servings.
I am not a fan of peppers by themself, but this was actually very good.

*Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake
plan ahead....needs to chill
2 Pkgs (8 ounes each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 C sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 graham cracker crust (9 inches)
1 Can (21 ounces) blueberry pie filling, divided
-In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, beating just until combined. Pour into crust. Drop 1/2 cup of pie filling by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the cream cheese mixture; cut through with a knife to swirl the pie filling .
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack. Chill for 2 hours. Top with remaining pie filling. Yield: 8 servings

I want to challenge all of you to try something new. Go through you old cook books or magazines, maybe go to the Library and look through their cooking magazines and try something you haven't cooked before. Let me know how it works, and maybe share your recpies. For those who want to try these recipes out have fun and enjoy.

Happy New Year!

I just wanted to say Happy New Year to all. I know I am a little late on posting, but my life has been so hectic the past few weeks. Plus, Terry and I were a bit lazy over the holiday's.
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and hope you did as well.
We got hit by a couple of big snow storms and ended up with about 2 feet of snow. Needless to say we did a lot of snow shoveling over the Christmas holiday's. Now some of you may be saying that 2 feet of snow is not the big of a deal. Which may be true for those who live in Utah, but here they just aren't equipped to take care of that much snow. It usually just snows enough to make a snowman and than turns to rain by the afternoon. We have lived here for almost five years and didn't own a snow shovel. When we got the snow storms we tried to find one but couldn't. All the stores were sold out. It was a good thing that Terry had a couple of weeks off for the holidays and we could just hibernate during that time.
Now we are on the other extreme. It is 62 degrees today. I was outside in a short sleeve shirt.
I wish I had some pictures to show you are 2ft of snow but I didn't get them taken. I did get some taken at the beginning of the snow.
Hear our some pictures of the kids on Christmas


Right before Christmas I had a friend take some pictures of my family. She did an okay job. The picture that turned out the best would have been the perfect family photo had you been able to see Terry better. It looks like we took the picture without him and than pasted him in afterwords. I can't complain though, and I am grateful she was willing to help out.



For my mom and dad's Christmas present, I put together a move of pictures and videos I have taken over the past year. When Riley was watching the movie with me he say a video I had of Abbie playing the piano, and asked where he was. Since I didn't have a video of him playing the piano he insisted I take a video of him playing his guitar. Every time I watch this I have to laugh. Don't ask me what he was thinking. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Terry

We celebrated Terry's birthday the other day. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. I don't think I would be sane without him. He can always tell when I am having a hard time and is willing to do the dishes or make dinner for me. He is always putting others need ahead of himself. He is a wonderful father, and my children absolutely adore him. I am looking forward to the Christmas break when we can be together without the stress of work or school.

Sleeping Time

Abbie has decided not to take naps anymore. As she told Riley the other day, "I am not taking anymore naps." It has been quite the adjustment at our house. Not only does she refuse to take a nap, but she has a hard time falling asleep at night. At first she was also waking up about every hour during the night, and than having a hard time going back to sleep. Everyone in the house was cranky. Things are getting better though. She still gets a little fussy around 4-5 o'clock in the afternoon, but after dinner she is full of energy again. Here are some pictures of Abbie sleeping.

Occasionally the kids refuse to go to sleep, so we have to take Riley and put him in our bed. The other night when this happened Abbie proceeded to fall asleep in Riley's Bed
This is Abbie and Daddy sleeping after church. One of the last naps Abbie took!

This is Abbie falling asleep at 6pm in her high chair. This was the during the whole phasing out of her nap time.

Those who know my daughter, know she loves books. She always takes at least one book to bed with her. There was a time she had about ten books with her at bed time. We quickly learned to limit it to just two books, or she would never go to bed because she would be to busy reading her books. The worst was when she woke everyone up in the house at 3 am singing Twinkle Little Star at the top of her lungs from one of her books.