CARS CARS AND MORE CARS

Some of you may know all about our recent car trouble, but for those of you who don't, our oldie but goody 1990 Pontiac was literally ran over by a lifted truck while it was parked. No one was inside thank goodness so we were not hurt. When the kids and I came out of the park and I didn't see the car where I had parked it, I thought, "who would want to steal that old thing!?!" As I kept walking, I finally saw the car and the picture below shows where it ended up. I took the picture at the spot where I had parked it and this is where the car ended up rolling.

Anyway, the lady that hit me was in a big lifted truck and I was the unlucky car parked behind her. She didn't even see the car and just backed right over the top of it. The bottom two pictures are of the top of the car and the side. I know, I know we didn't have much paint to begin with so the big scrape mark is kind of hard to see. All the damage she did is on the left side of the hood and the light and then on the side of the car as well.

To be honest I don't know much about cars so I thought that I would be able to drive the car home at least. Well I was very wrong because as soon as I got in and started it up something didn't sound quite right. The worst part was when I put it in drive and tried the gas and the car didn't go any where. As soon as I took my foot off the gas I started to put it in park and every gear sounded AWFUL! Each gear made a grinding sound like one I have never heard before. The cars transmission was broken and since the car is only worth about $500 and a new transmission is worth a lot more the car was pronounced TOTALED!

Long story short the great part to this story is her insurance company checked the car out and instead of just giving us $500 for the car they gave us just over $1,000 since you can't really put a price on a good car that we didn't owe a thing on and were planing to drive and drive and drive until we just couldn't any more. So that leads me to my great news. Keith looked and looked all over for a new car for quite some time. If any of you know Keith you can just picture him spending a lot of time working on each and every last detail. I'm not saying that is a bad thing because now we are the proud owners of a really great 2008 Hyundai Sonata. So here are some pictures of the new car.

OVER LOAD

So I don't mean to over load everyone with all that we have been doing but I'm going to! We have been busy and I haven't had much time for blogging until today. I wanted to show some fun pictures that I took of the kids to show some of what we have been doing. So here is a warning to you all that there are lots of pictures!

Eli's Preschool

I had heard last year about a few ladies from my ward and other wards that were getting together twice a week to do preschool for their kids. When I heard about what they did and could see that some of the kids were really loving it I knew it was something I wanted Eli to do. So of course when I was told that some of the ladies were doing it again I jumped at the chance to join in. I was a little worried at first because he is the only one that is 3 the rest are 4 and 5 years old. But so far so good! We have had preschool every week on Tuesday and Thursday and the ladies and I just rotate who teaches. What is really great is Eli will ask me every day if it is time for school. He absolutely loves it! So here are a few pictures of some of the fun things that he has been learning about.

He learned about families and made marshmallow people for how many were in his family. The best part though was when he came home I asked him who each marshmallow was and the two in the middle are him and Mckenna. The other two though are a guy with one shoe, he is on the left and the one with a toothpick in his head is a, "shooter guy." I don't know where he got it but it sure did make me laugh!


On another day they learned about houses. This is an igloo that he made with sugar cubes and frosting. When I walked in the door to pick him up from school I saw some of the other kids igloos and they of course looked like square houses and all the kids did a great job. So I kept looking for Eli's and then his teacher brought it out and I just couldn't help but smile! He told me that it was a tower igloo and I love it!


Just a few weeks ago this is some of the stuff he did. They made a Halloween house and a fall crown. He is holding a pig in his had but you really can't see it very well. It is a apple pig. It has cinnamon for eyes and gum drops for legs and a nose.


This picture is a when I had school here at my house. I drew around the kids and then we talked about our bones and some of their organs. I had the kids paste the bones and organs on themselves.

There is so much more that he has done. The first day of school they made pretzels in the letter of their first and last initials. On another day they learned about dinosaurs and then they made their very own dinosaur landscape from a shoe box. He colored the background and then his teacher gave them some fake grass and rocks to put inside. She also gave Eli a little triceratops that he plays with all the time. So all in all this has been a great experience for both Eli and I.

Snow Day

Since I have lived in Wyoming for most of my life you would think by now I would be used to the weather! I'm NOT! At the end of September this is what we got...

My poor flowers!

The next day it was still snowing and the kids wanted to go out and play.

Mckenna looks like a purple umpa lumpa!

What's for Dinner!

This is...

Doesn't this look great! Really all I can take credit for though is the potatoes. Keith grilled this beauty of a pork chop. I highly recommend this recipe if you ever are going to grill pork chops. Its not to hard to do but turns out really good!

Rub

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp light brown sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp granulated onion

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground cloves

Pinch ground cayenne pepper

Lightly coat the pork on both sides with oil. Season with the rub , pressing the spices into the meat. Let the pork sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling. Serve with favorite barbecue sauce.

Sour Cream Scalloped potatoes

8-10 potatoes, peeled, diced into cubes, and cooked until soft

2 cups sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup French-fried onions

In a bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Pour into an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Sprinkle with French-fried onions and return to the over for 10 minutes more.

NEXT...

I love, love, love RANCH! I eat it with my salad, my french fries, and now on my burger. When I saw that this burger had ranch in it I had to try it and if you love ranch as much as I do then you should try it too!

Ranch Burgers

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 (1 oz) packages ranch dressing mix

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup crushed saltine crackers

1 very small onion or 1/2 of a big onion, chopped

cooked bacon

In a bowl, mix together the ground beef, ranch dressing mix, egg, crushed crackers and onion. Form into hamburger patties. Grill just the way you like it!



Pasta courtesy of my sister Jaime.

Jaime's Pasta Salad

1 bag curly colored pasta, cooked

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 cup green olives, cut in half

1 small bottle of Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette

sprinkle ground oregano, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to taste

Mix all ingredients together and ENJOY!

What's for Dinner

So I know you have all been waiting with baited breath for this to come out...right! (; Well here it is, Teena's Spicy Pesto Chicken and Pasta courtesy of allrecipes.com. I love this web site and I go to it all the time to see what fun recipes I can find. And find one I did! I knew I wanted to try something that had pesto in it since just a few days ago I tasted it for the first time by itself and all I can say is I LOVED IT! So here is it...

Teena's Spicy Pesto Chicken and Pasta

1 (16oz) package uncooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon hot chili paste - I added just a little more since we like it hot

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces

6 T prepared basil pesto - I used 8

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place farfalle pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente, and drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix in the chili paste and chicken. Cook and stir chicken 10 minutes, or until evenly browned and juices run clear.

Toss the cooked farfalle, pesto, Parmesan cheese, and cilantro into the skillet, and continue cooking just until heated through.

I read on allrecipes.com that you could substitute the chili paste with chili powder. I also read though that it doesn't have the same taste and the paste is much better. One reason people were substituting was because they couldn't find the paste. I looked at Wal-Mart and of course couldn't find it but then headed to Smith's and found it there with the hot sauce and next to the pesto. When I found it it was call Hot Pepper Paste. I loved this recipe and will be making it again very soon and because I loved it I gave it 4 stars! Enjoy!

So Joanna I tried to take a good picture but I think I am going to need some practice because even in the natural light it still didn't look as good as it really was. I have to also talk about my green bean too since they are from my garden and Jaime gave me the best idea on how to cook them.

I knew I had made a good dinner when Mckenna started licking her plate!

My sister was right...

my kids also think that running through the sprinkler is as good as being at a water park. I was in the garden working and had turned the water on for the grass. I had given Eli some cars and trucks to play with and Mckenna a shovel and other toys thinking this would keep them busy for some time. As I was working I hear behind me giggling and turn to see Mckenna soaked by the sprinkler. Next I see Eli running over to get a chance to get all wet as well. I ran inside to grab my camera and these are the pictures to prove that water parks have nothing on a sprinkler in the back yard. I would have preferred to have them in their swim suites but after all the fun they had it really didn't mater in the end.
The first 5 minutes and Mckenna is already really wet!

Mckenna is still getting wet and Eli is running through trying to stay as dry as he can.

The sprinkler got him this time but still he isn't really that wet yet...

UNTIL NOW!!!

Ok you know they are done when Eli is playing with his hair and sucking his thumb!

Had to get proof of how wet she was. I don't think she had a dry spot on her!

What do you see?

While I was in Utah with my family I was making lots of trips from my sister Joanna's house in Layton (where I was staying) to Salt Lake City and back and also to Provo. This was so that I could try and see all of my family that are spread throughout that part of Utah. Every time we would head to SLC I would try to point out the temple to Eli so that he could see it. If you have ever driven that interstate before though you know that really all you see are the tall building that surround the temple. Well finally I decided that I would take the kids to the temple so they could see it and know of it's importance to me. So after Heather took us to dinner I asked if she would come with us and of course she did! It was so nice to have her there since my kids thought that the temple grounds where like a big flowered, water park to them. After we had walked around and looked at all we could before it got dark I wondered to myself whether or not any thing I was saying about the temple was sinking in for Eli. It was still worth it but I have to say that it became even more worth it when about two weeks later we were sitting at the table eating lunch and Eli holds up his potato chip and says, "Look Mom, my chip looks like the temple!" Silly I know for me to be so proud that my kid thinks his chip looks like the temple but it made me realize he really was listening! Ok so now I'm going to get all sappy but I am so glad that I have the gospel in my life and most of all that Keith and I were married in the temple so that my family will be together forever!

What's for Dinner

When I was in Utah seeing my family a few weeks ago (which I still haven't blogged about due to not remembering to take my camera) my sisters Heather, Joanna and I went and saw the movie Julie & Julia. It was a lot of fun and I was, lets say very inspired to do something a little different with my blog every once in a while. To be exact I will be trying this every week. I love to cook and I find that I make the same things over and over again because either they are easy or easy and good. I feel that I am getting better as a cook but I'm needing to expand my horizons! There are so many good recipes out there and I want to start trying them. So without further ado I will tell you about the first recipe I picked. It is called Garden Fresh Fettuccine. The biggest reason I picked this recipe was out of our garden this year we have lots and lots of zucchini and when I saw that this asked for zucchini I was all about it. The other thing I liked was that it is an all vegetable dish. No meat allowed! I find that there are times that that's all I cook. I did do some changes due to my kids not liking cooked onions so I will be putting my changes in italics just so you know. So here it is courtesy of Taste of Homes...

Garden Fresh Fettuccine

1 package (16oz) fettuccine
1 large zucchini, julienned

2 medium green peppers, cut into strips - 1 1/2 since that was all I had

2 medium onions, chopped - 1 medium onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 T vegetable oil

4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped - 2 large since that is what I bought

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes - I added just a little more since we like it hot

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet saute the zucchini, peppers, onions and garlic in oil until tender. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and crushed pepper flakes; saute 4-5 minutes longer. Drain pasta; add vegetable mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

If any of you are like me and it takes you a long time to cut vegetables you may want to wait a little bit before you start the fettuccine. It took me the longest to peel and seed the tomatoes and in the end my pasta was all done and waiting to be made into a masterpiece! (; It was fine in the end but I think that it would have been better had it been hot pasta!

Now to the ratings. I'm going to rate the recipes I try on a five star rating so that I can tell you in short how I feel about them. If by chance you try the recipes you have to let me know what you think! You wont hurt my feeling if you love what I hate or hate what I love. I want to know! For this dish I give it 4 stars! I hope you like it as much as I did!

ENJOY!

Playing at the Park

My friend Tracey called the other day and invited us to go to the park with her and her cute girls. We had a great time and the kids were loving it but the best part for me was when she started taking pictures. She was taking pictures of my kids as well and that is great since I forget my camera every time! What was even better was when I got the pictures the next day! I am very impressed with that since I generally don't send things to people for months, sorry Heather. (: Then to top it all off when I looked at the pictures I couldn't believe how cute they were! She took some really cute pictures! So I had to post them to show everyone. Thanks Tracey!