I Wish it was Tuesday

Why do I wish it was Tuesday?  Because on Tuesday at Johnny Carino's they have a great lunch special.  On that weekday, it is buy one get one free with the pronto pasta selections.  The pasta dish comes with soup or salad and endless bread.  I love dipping their bread into the olive oil and garlic, it's so yummy.  It's a great day to meet up with a friend or have a little date with your husband while the kids are in school.

I have been their once with Paul and then on several occasions with friends.  Anyone want to meet me for lunch next week?

PRONTO PASTA - SOUP OR SALAD & LUNCH ENTREE 8.99

Choose a lunch sized portion of a Carino's classic -

• Spicy Shrimp & Chicken
• Chicken Penne Gorgonzola
• Spicy Romano Chicken
• Homemade Parmesan
• Grilled Chicken Bowtie Festival
• Homemade 16-Layer Lasagna
• Chicken Fettuccine
• Chicken Primavera
• Create Your Own Pasta 

Pumpkin & Friend Time

The girls had another couple days of no school for parent teacher conferences.  (They have had 9 days of no school while the boys have had no breaks)!  We had the Richael girls over for the afternoon.  The all carved pumpkins and kept themselves busy.  It was the easiest pumpkin carving event because Emily and Amanda helped my girls!  It was fun to watch them work together.  

Happy Halloween

 As tradition for the past few years, we went trick or treating with the Richael family. Jody and I took the girls around the neighborhood (our old stomping grounds) while the guys manned the door.  It was pretty funny coming back and seeing Paul giving the kids candy - where was Craig?  Vivian was an easy cat and Olivia dressed up as Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter (Olivia read the whole set in just a few weeks).

Happy 4th

We had a great 4th celebrating with friends and family.  We feasted on lots of yummy food:  hot dogs, hamburgers, spicy honey chicken legs, broccoli  salad, watermelon, coleslaw, mini apple pies (made by Vivian and me), cherries, potato salad, chips and Chad's famous guacamole, potato chips, layered red/white/blue jello, Jody's raspberry pie (delicious), a red/white/blue cake, ice-cream and probably more!  The guys had fun shooting guns and playing bocce.  We all had a good time.  The night ended by watching the fireworks over the Speedway.

I am grateful for the United States of America; I'm proud to be an American and thankful for the freedoms we enjoy.

Potluck to Leg Wrestling!

 The night started off with a good, ol' fashioned potluck dinner with the Richaels and Christensens.  Then we played games, visited, and eventually got the wild idea to leg wrestle!

 Paul and Brent go at it, of course, Brent wins.  Watch it here!

 Jody and Allie

Jody and Tiffani

Come on, Jen!  (This get together was the night before New Year's Eve).

Caramel Apple Cravings

 

I have been craving a caramel apple for a few months, especially after viewing some fantastic caramel apples at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  They looked fabulous, but they cost a fortune.

So I waited until we dipped our own at home with friends.  The apple in the top left corner was my creation.  We had several toppings for the apples, including:  Kissables, mini chocolate chips, toasted coconut (my favorite), chopped nuts, Butterfinger Crunch, and crushed oreos.

 

 We all had a great time!

Riding Hershey

Susan, Greg, and Trinity had our family out to ride Hershey, Trinity's horse. Susan was kind to walk the girls around and around the arena while they enjoyed their rides. And a special thank you to Trinity for sharing her horse with us!

You see that Corbin was brave enough to ride a few moments bareback on a different horse - a larger one.

Greg was surprised that he had a gift waiting for him. Take a look at the photo of him and Paul and you will see the gift in the background - a horse named Magic! I've had a few surprise gifts from Paul (that I did not want) so this was pure fun for me to watch this play out before my eyes.

Porter was the only one that wouldn't ride. He preferred to watch the fun instead of participate.

These pictures were taken back in March. I failed to capture a new photo of Trinity. She was sure a little showgirl on her horse. She definitely has the confidence and is gaining more and more skills to take charge of her horse!

Thanks so much for all the fun Susan!

Floating the River Fun

We floated the river with the Richael family Saturday afternoon - it was totally spontaneous (on our part). I said "what the heck" the house chores can wait for another day! Our families had a blast together (in addition to the dinner and talent show later that evening - it was a full day).

Within a couple minutes of launching our rafts on the river, we made our first stop on shore. The kids saw a mini-beach and had to stop. After getting a feel for the water, Craig got brave enough to swim in the shallow water near the shore. Boy, it was chilly and breathtaking. From his brave stunt, some of us followed suit, including: Amanda, Olivia, and me.

The kids went back and forth on the boats. For some reason, they felt like they were being tortured if they were on our raft. I'm still trying to figure out how Jody allures them to her car and boat (is it all the treats - I know food talks).

Notice in the bottom left picture Jody is mostly dry. That was taken before our water fight. We used our oars to splash water back and forth. I think Jody leaned a little too far forward which caused her to plunge into the cold river. From there on, I knew she was out to get me.

Paul and I managed a little better than last year with our raft. We still need some training on paddling and maneuvering the small falls. Jody caught a picture of us stuck on the cement edge of the falls. We came right up to the drop off and realized we were in the wrong spot. Luckily our boat got free and we were safe.

I have to mention that Jody and Paul teamed up and got me to fall off the boat in the river. Vivian was not happy with Jody because of her helping push me into the river so she tried pushing Jody off the boat. Oh, Vivs, I'm glad you will stand up for me! After that "water battle" we were even so we took it easy after that. Except that we tried to de-boat Paul, which ended up backfiring on me and I did a backward flip into the river getting totally drenched!

Towards the end of our float, I noticed a man standing above the water in a tree as we were floating underneath him. I looked up and asked "Oh, hi. Are you going to jump?" Right then he did a cannon ball drop next to our boat getting us wet. Holy cow! After that we pulled ashore and watched him scare many other floaters that passed by him. It was fun anticipating which raft he would choose as his target.

Thanks for inviting us, Richaels - we had a great day with you!

Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls in Oregon

Stopping at Multnomah Falls is always a must on our way to the coast. The scenery is breathtaking and it's a much needed break before our last push to the coast. The kids enjoyed the .2 mile hike to the footbridge which looks over the falls, it was short and sweet.

For more information about Multnomah Falls and the history of the foot bridge, click here.


This was a cool visual that displays the fish eggs at day 0 (birth) and all the way up to 150 days.

The Pirate's Cove Beach

The girls collected their findings and made a little aquarium in the various buckets and toys.

Saturday afternoon we went in search of another beach to explore. We stopped and asked a local - he said "just call wildlife on the phone they will know where to take a bunch of kids." What? I thought he didn't understand my question so I asked again, but got the same answer. Jody and I then stopped and asked a hotel manager and she gave us directions to a cool, hidden beach. I couldn't understand the name she called it, so I renamed it the Pirate's Cove Beach.

We happened to time our visit at low-tide, in hopes of finding tide pools filled with ocean creatures. This little hidden beach was located off the road between the Cape Mears Lighthouse and the quaint town of Oceanside, down many stairs and not seen from the road - it was the highlight of our trip because we found many creatures. These treasures included: starfish, barnacles, anemones, sea cucumbers, crabs, mussels, snails, fish, and more!

Porter spent his time making waterways to his little mud hole and sandcastle.

Paul and I explored the cave - it was full of colorful sea creatures. It was a bit scary walking through the cave in water, while hearing the ocean waves crashing not far away. When the tide is lower, you can walk completely through the tunnel to a secret beach on the other side.

The view was spectacular! We could have stayed here all day.

Here we are exploring the rocks - it was like Christmas every time we found something! I found a site that lists the great tidepool spots along the Oregon Coast. Check it out HERE.

By the time we left, we were all wet from the heavy mist. The weather was cool during our whole vacation and we barely saw the sun one day. Now we know why Oregon is so green and beautiful!

We are heading out to drive an hour back to Seaside after an eventful day at two beaches and the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

Summer Fun at the Coast

Bye Seaside and 500 N. Roosevelt

We had our last big blast this summer with a trip with the Richaels to the Oregon Coast. We had this plan in the works for a long time. Now I am home with a sandy van, lots of laundry, some sea shells, great memories, lots of photos, and many things to put away.

Vivian and Amanda are the first ones ready to go!

The kids took turns sitting in the front, in the back, in both vans - they were all over the place. It is nice traveling with friends because we can mix it up. Even the adults liked switching it up. Jody and I had some great visits. I have learned a lot from her example. I am especially grateful for her example of taking motherhood seriously and for finding the joy of raising righteous children. It is displayed in her love, in her devotion and commitment to her family, in her planned activities and experiences for them to learn and grow in specific areas, in her sacrifice to set aside her own interests and career - to be a mother and woman of God. Thank you, Jody!

Driving through Portland

It's a good thing Craig didn't see me take this photo - he wasn't very fond of all the photos I took! :-)

Picnic on the church lawn

Church at The Dalles

Yesterday we made the long drive from Seaside all the way back home. We left around 9am (Pacific time) and arrived home (10pm Mountain Time). On the way we stopped for sacrament meeting in The Dalles, along with a picnic lunch on the church lawn. It gave us enough energy to make the next segment of our trip to LaGrande where we accidentally found another LDS church and parked ourselves on the lawn for another picnic and restroom break.

Picnic in LaGrande on the church lawn

Our pet for 30 minutes!

As I was opening the church door, a small frog hopped inside the building. I quickly caught the frog, which brought lots of joy to the kids. They all took turns holding the poor thing and then he was released on the lawn. Little things can bring so much joy!

Viv's Last Celebration

Vivian really wanted a friend birthday party, but I did that for each of the children on their last birthday (I do a friend party every other year). However, she was so insistent so I decided that we could do a simple gathering of friends with their families in the park, just a few houses down from where we live.

Vivian, Olivia and the Richael girls decorated the cupcakes earlier in the day and I made a whole bunch of chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (recipe here for those who requested it). In addition, we had Popsicles and water. We topped it off with balloons and called it good!

The kids had a blast in the park, the moms had fun visiting and the dad's played wiffle ball and kickball! I wish I would have got a picture of them - they took their games seriously and were sweaty. It is one of the few warmer days that we have had so far this summer.

At the end the girls were playing "Red Rover" - oh, that brings back fun childhood memories. Thank you everyone for coming!

The story of the balloon:
As we were leaving Paul offered a balloon to Kenzie. Oh, Vivian was devasted that he gave away the purple balloon because it was her favorite. Earlier I had taken Vivian to the party store where she picked out each balloon. She cried and cried and we could tell that she was heart broken, so Paul called Kenzie's parents and explained that he was in the dog house for giving away her special purple balloon and that he could trade it with a green one. So Paul made the exchange and Vivian was very grateful. Oops, sometimes Dad's don't understand how important the tiniest littlest things are to a child.

Bunnysitting Nibbles

Nibbles Richael is visiting us this week. The kids love studying every move she makes, feeding her carrots and celery, and watching her explore the living room. Nibbles has a strong personality -watch out she may bite, charge, or stomp her feet! So far no one has been bitten.

Impromtu Pizza Party

Tristan, Corbin, Hayden, and Taylor

I got a call from Corbin around 2:20 pm this afternoon asking to have his friends come over for a party this afternoon. We had discussed the idea of doing this tomorrow briefly as he walked out of the door for school this morning. Okay, I had to kick it into high gear.

We had pizza, homemade rootbeer (click here for recipe) , delicious corn on the cob (the first I have had this season), and chips.

Corbin is leaving soon to stay several weeks with Paul's parents in Wyoming.

Another dry ice use: FOOD STORAGE
Placing Dry Ice in the bottom of a dry food storage container is a very economical way to fumigate and store dry goods for an extended amount of time. Make sure the Dry Ice is not frost covered, as that will add moisture. Put one quarter pound of Dry Ice per five-gallon storage container in the bottom and then pour in the dry food. As the Dry Ice sublimates it replaces the oxygen in the container with CO2. Leave the lid on but not tightly sealed until the Dry Ice completely sublimates. (About 5-6 hours) Then snap the lid tight. Without oxygen, neither bugs nor bacteria can grow. This process is good for seeds, grains, legumes, flower, powdered milk, etc. An excellent site for further information can be found at http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/html/FDNS-E-34-1.html