weekend favorites

I almost forgot to post about the Easter picnic/egg hunt that we enjoyed on Friday night. I was in charge of this activity with the help of my committee...so grateful for those who jumped in & helped out. I was worried that we would not have a good turn out due to the winds that would not stop. We had a GREAT turn out despite the crazy wind. The kids had a great time hunting for eggs, playing games/relays, & enjoying Easter punch(don't ask)& cookies.
























































General Conference traditions are still alive & kicking @ our house. We had the chance to watch/listen to General Conference this weekend. For my friends who have no idea what I am talking about, General Conference happens twice a year, once in the Fall & once in the Spring. It is an opportunity for us to receive counsel from our prophet, Thomas S. Monson & other General Authorities of our church. A family tradition that we enjoy each General Conference weekend are delicious Butterscotch Rolls. Try them, they just might become a tradition in your home too. We actually make these during the holidays too. So yummy & simple to make.

Butterscotch Rolls





















1 bag ( 1 lb. 9 0z) of Bridgeford rolls
1/2- 1 c. brown sugar
1 small box of cook & serve butterscotch pudding
1/2 c. nuts ( I like chopped pecans)
1 stick of butter

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease bundt pan & sprinkle nuts in pan.
Place rolls in pan on top of nuts.
Sprinkle butterscotch pudding over rolls.
On the stove, melt brown sugar & butter.
Bring to a slight boil & remove from heat.
Pour evenly over rolls.
Cover with a dish towel & let rise over night
on your kitchen counter. Bake for 30 minutes
Enjoy!
**I cover mine with foil about 10 minutes before they are done.

Another fun thing the boys enjoyed this year were these great little conference packets. Rhonda sent the file to me a few weeks ago- thank you so much Rhonda! They were a hit! John made a bunch of copies & I had fun creating little packets & treat bags for a few friends & our boys.






















I found simple folders @ Wal*Mart & used my stash of Thickers to put names on each folder. I put crayons & candy in each little bag & tied it off with a simple bow from my ribbon stash. Very fun & "spring-y".
The boys loved their packets(there's were along the lines of the red, blue's & yellows-LOL) as we watched conference today. I think their favorite was the Conference BINGO. I gave them a pkg. of Easter Runts to mark their spots with. They played a few rounds & would eat their candy as they would yell BINGO. I am feeling so very grateful for the chance that I had to watch conference this weekend. Very grateful for a modern day prophet & the opportunity I had to listen to his words & counsel, the things that are important for this day & time. I am off to get dinner going. Have a happy Sunday!

play ball...

Another Saturday, another day spent @ the baseball fields. Carter played @ 9am. He had an awesome game. He had great, solid hits each time he took a turn up @ bat. He played 1st base during the 4th inning & had an awesome diving catch that made for a great last out for the inning.






















{Carter is the player on the right @ 1st base}






















Tanner had the afternoon game. Can you say sunscreen! It was very warm & I think I even got a sunburn on my face! Tanner had a great game too! He pitched two innings & did really well.





















































After the game, the coach said something about each player & this is what Coach Casey had to say about Tanner: "We have been looking for another dominant pitcher for our team & we found it when Tanner joined our team this season". Their team lost today but not without a good rally.

You can't forget the fans in the stands...do you like our latest self portrait?





















We hope you are enjoying your Saturday & the Spring Sunshine!

{project 365}






























This is my photo for the day...thanks Carter!
We have had a yucky virus run through our house this past week.
I was working on my lap top at the kitchen table while the boys were watching some TV. Brody crawled up into my lap, laid his head down on the kitchen table & went to sleep in a matter of seconds. This poor boy was the last to get the yucky virus.
You know he is sick when he falls asleep @ 11 in the morning on his mama's lap.

A Garrett funny

So I missed posting this back on St. Patrick's Day but wanted to make sure I had it recorded somewhere. On St. Patrick's Day, I was a bad Mom & sent Tanner & Carter off to school w/out having them wear green because I forgot what day it was. It is the only holiday that I don't totally get into. I'm not sure why, but I just don't...maybe next year. Any way, I remembered it was St. Patty's day just in time to send Garrett off to speech class. I told him to go & find a green shirt, QUICK. When he came out with a green shirt on, I told him we could go pinch Daddy because it was St. Patrick's Day & daddy wasn't wearing green. Garrett wouldn't pinch him (on any other day I would have said "good boy"), he wasn't getting the whole St. Patrick's Day tradition. My friend Steph drove Garrett to speech that day & when she brought him home, she said I need to tell you what Garrett said today. I always hold my breath for these kind of conversations because I never know what will come out of my 4 yr.olds mouth - LOL.
She said at first she wasn't sure what he was talking about...but after putting two & two together, she got it!!! Garrett was saying "it is Patrick's Day today, we are wearing green"

























He then proceeded to tell Timothy & Stephanie that "tomorrow is Spongebob day so we all need to wear yellow". Too funny! He thought that if we had a day of celebration for 'Patrick', well then we surely we have a day of celebration for Spongebob. Totally makes sense, right!?!? Mark your calendar folks. From now on, March 18th is the official Spongebob day.







Don't forget to wear yellow or Garrett just might pinch you.

pay it forward...and other randomness

I received my first pay it forward surprise today. If you remember my "Darn you Target" post from a few days ago, you will remember that I kind of bragged about how I am up & ready (each day) for my day around 7 am. Well, this morning I ate my words - LOL. It was about 10 am & our doorbell rang. My kids are scrambling to get their clothes on, I am still in my jammies and John is half dressed (hey @ least he had showered). We finally made it to the door & there stood my sweet friend Laurie.
Look at this cuteness she made for ME.






























You know how I LOVE aprons. This one is so fun & colorful. Thank you for my darling apron Laurie...I LOVE IT! What you can't see in the photo that john took is that I am actually doing a curtsy to show off my apron :). Thank you Laurie! You made my day!

Now let me explain why we were still in our jammies and half dressed @ 10 am. A nasty little virus is running through our house right now. Carter & Tanner have had fevers over a 100 degrees for two days now. Garrett
woke up with a fever this morning-uuugghhh! They have the shivers, then they are hot. Carter has a nagging cough & cold. Poor little guy is totally miserable. Brody & are are still healthy - knock on wood.

In other news on the home front/life, I won the Morty basket @ Bunko last night. The theme for our prize basket was "favorite indulgence". There were a ton of goodies in the basket. It was a great night to win that basket for the very first time. I have been playing Bunk for the last 5 years & have yet to win that coveted basket. Some of the prizes were: Costa Vida gift cards, a Sonic gift card, A Starbucks gift card, a People magazine, Truffles, a darling serving platter/plate(totally my colors), body scrub, Bath & Body Lotion, glass cleaner, Easter candy, & even a $10.00 bill. It was a fun win. Thanks for hosting Keri, I had a great time.

The Science Fair project has been turned in( and returned back to us) - YAY!!!





















Tanner did a nice job with his experiment & project board. The boy who loves to chew gum thought it would be fun to buy several different gum brands & test them to see which brands flavor lasts the longest. i am pretty sure it was just a ploy to get me to buy him several packs of gum at once :). I'm glad the Science Fair is over. Now we get to gear up for the 4th grade mission project -uugghhhh...not looking forward to that one.

I headed to Wal*Mart @ 11:30 PM on Friday night. I purchased my copy of Twilight & was home by 12:15 am.












Do you think I watched it that night,(ugghh I mean morning)? You bet I did. Then I watched it again on Saturday night. It is going to be one of my favorites for late night scrabooking.

Baseball in under way. I sat out @ the ball field on Saturday for 5 hours straight, in the pouring rain. The rain would break for a few miutes & then start up again.
















We kept waiting for them to call all the games because the rain was coming down hard. No luck. Both boys won their games despite the rain. They actually enjoyed playing in the rain.

Even with all the rain, you should know that Spring really is here. We are enjoying all of the popcorn trees around town. They look really pretty. John's allergies are full blown right now due to these beauties...poor guy.





















Spring weather = park days! Brody & I enjoyed our neighborhood park last week. Loved the weather & the smile that the park brought to his face.
















We hope you are healthy & enjoying your week!

Recipe Share

I have been making this recipe for years. I found it in the Taste of Home's Quick Cooking magazine back in March 2003. My Mom bought me a subscription to Taste of Home's one year & I LOVED receiving them. I am always eager to try new recipes.

Taco Lasagna
1 lb. of ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 c. chopped green pepper (I don't ever add this-kids aren't a fan of peppers)
1/2 c. chopped onion
2/3 c. water
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can(15 ounces) black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) Mexican diced tomatoes, undrained
6 flour tortillas (8 in.)
1 can (16 ounces)refried beans
3 c. (12 oz.)shredded Mexican cheese blend

In a large skillet, cook the beef or turkey, green pepper, onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. add water & taco seasoning;bring to a boil. Reduce heat;simmer,uncovered, for 2 minutes. Stir in the black beans and tomatoes. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Place two tortillas in a greased 13 in. X 9 in. baking dish. Spread with half of the refried beans and beef mixture; sprinkle with 1 c. cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese. Cover & bake @ 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Yield:9 servings. You can garnish with sour cream, extra cheese, salsa!

* I serve a Southwest ready made salad with this meal & we are good to go.
**I almost love this recipe "more" the day after. It is a yummy, quick left over meal for lunch.
Enjoy!

Totally cracking me up! This came home in Carter's backpack last week.
Sometimes I wonder where my kids come from -LOL! Make sure to read his
thoughts all the way to the end! Enjoy!!!!
































We are pretty sure the assignment was to write down 4 reasons why you'd like to be a firefighter. I do have to give him credit for being honest & stating why he doesn't want to be a firefighter. Just so you know, we have the upmost respect for firefighters & the risk they take to help & save peoples lives.