Caught on Video!!

I don’t know why Chloe gets camera shy but we caught her.. so forgive me for her being nude.. but it was right before bath time… and she was performing.. so I had to take advantage!!! Enjoy. My Favorite it how she says, “Connor”!

Paletas (Mexican Popsicles)

Last night the Mia Maids were in charge of Combined Mutual and with a lot of the girls being sick and my counselor being out of town… I decided to take matters into my own hands… Muah Haha… Not really… All I wanted to do was have a simple, cheap, but organized activity.. So I taught them the Game of Battleship Volleyball. Where there are sheets that hang from the volleyball net so they can’t see the other team. Then each player sits/lays on the floor as the “Battleships” Then the other team throws over a ball and if you are hit, you are out!! It was fun. Well mostly it was fun watching… it was nice knowing I wasn’t the ones being hit :) Then for treats we had chips, salsa and bean dip… and Paletas!!!! Kiel thought I should stick to the “mexican theme” and every other Mexican dessert is fried expect theses. They are simple and delicious. Tried and tested by my kids. They will be perfect when it starts to get a little hotter outside!

So as requested.. here’s the recipes that I followed.

Banana – combine 2 bananas, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar. Blend and Freeze!

Strawberry – combine 3 3/4 cup fresh strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Blend and Freeze

Sour Orange – combine 1 1/3 cup fresh orange juice, 1/3 cup fresh lime juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Blend and Freeze.

Very simple but very Fresh and they melt very slowly so perfect for kids!

*Valentine’s Day*

Happy Valentine’s day! This year seemed a little tough with it landing on a Monday. But of course I wanted to do something special. So Saturday morning, while Kiel was working I dressed the kids up for a “photo shoot” in the backyard. I curled Chloe’s hair and spiked Connor’s. All I wanted Chloe to do was point at her eye. Something she will do all day long….But apparently not in front of the camera. After a million attempts she wouldn’t do it. I have lots of pictures of her crying…. and being silly… but out of 100 pictures finally I have ONE picture of her actually doing it. So it’s not the best quality but she did it!!!  Connor + Chloe = goofiness so the other pictures were easy! Then with a little editing magic by Uncle Eric WhaLa! I printed off the 3 pictures and put them in a 3 slot frame for Kiel. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Eye ~ Love ~ You

Like I’ve said before I have had a lot of fun trying new recipes. Tonight was no different. Something I’ve never really eaten let alone made from Scratch is Chicken Pot Pie. And Who Better to steal a Recipe from?? The Famous Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. It was DELICIOUS and simple Just a little love and patience. We invited Alan over to celebrate with us. It was a fun dinner!

Mouth watering yet???? Here’s the recipe… Try it. It’s good! The recipe made 5 individual pies (Adult sized) so we have one left over for Kiel later.. and then one in the freezer. Great deal!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-pot-pie-recipe/index.html 

 

Then on to Dessert. I wanted to do Chocolate Fondue but instead of going out and spending the money on a fondue pot I just bought a tiny Crockpot and filled it up. It was fun and tasty!

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!!! Until next year… XoXoXo

Update

I haven’t been diligent in taking a lot of pictures lately but nothing out of the ordinary has happened lately…. I guess.. But to catch up here are some things we’ve been up to.

While away on vacation Kiel’s truck broke down and it has taken a week to fix it. We will be getting “ol blue” back tomorrow hopefully. And I pray that she’ll run better than ever.

Super bowl weekend was crazy busy for Kiel and he was just glad it was over with on Monday.

I finally accomplished one of my goals.. repainting my bedroom. I am NOT a painter… I am not patient enough for it… and it’s tough with kids because I hate starting a project and having to walk away without it being done. But I finished in one day and was high from the fumes all night. Horary! One thing to check off my list!!

The kids are growing up so fast.. especially Chloe. She now knows all her body parts, even where her “crazies” are.. (that’s what we call the kids’ foreheads… I know mean right…. but silly. Connor still calls his forehead his crazies:) ) This is a little video I made from the other day. Chloe had just finished showing me all her body parts when I pulled out my camera to document it…and this is what happened….

This week has been all about trying new recipes. It’s been fun. I really enjoy cooking and I am getting more daring. On Monday night I thought it would be a nice surprise for Kiel to have “Shrimp and Grits”. Now I am not a fan of Grits at all but Kiel did request Shrimp at some point in the week so I found a recipe and went to town. Kiel said it was good… it needed more butter and of course always more Shrimp… but pretty good. Me, not a real fan but the romesco sauce I made on top was delicious!! Thank you Robert Irvine from the FoodNetwork.

Another new thing I tried today were these little cookies… not much of a cookie more like a meringue cookie.. but cute and easy. They are for my young women on Sunday. Loved how easy they were to make. 3 ingredients. Can’t beat that! 

 

pretty cute, right?

 

 

 

 

Well that’s about it. We’ve been trying to stay healthy with everyone around us getting sick all the time.

Weekend in Vegas

Last Wednesday morning Kiel, The kids and I headed up to Las Vegas for a much needed Vacation. We celebrated Kiel and my dad’s Birthday. I don’t have a ton of pictures but it was a nice, relaxing weekend. We went to the park everyday… probably twice a day but the kids loved it! Kiel and I were able to stay at a casino the first 2 nights which was fun to get away from everything. The kids enjoyed their sleepover at Grandma’s. Kiel and I were able to go do a session at the Las Vegas temple. The first time for both of us. It was so beautiful and an amazing experience. Even though their was a little drama at home…. we were still able to enjoy our time away.

 

The View from our Casino window… Made Kiel a little jealous that we didn’t go golfing… but nevertheless a great view.

We had a great trip. It’s always nice to get away. So Happy Birthday Dad and Kiel!!!