Island Park

It didn't take Gavin long to get relaxed

We spent a long weekend at the condo in Island Park
and it was a nice break from EVERYTHING!My silly monkey eating a banana

Going for a walk and enjoying the fresh air

We invited the family to come up on Saturday and hang
out at the clubhouse with us, it was fun!

Chet, Madisen, Faith, Teri, Gavin and Karen

Gavin figured out how to pick up the diving ring with his feet

My little fish

My sister Karen and her baby Madisen.
It was Madisen's first time swimming ever!
It took some getting use to, but she loved it.

The pool side flooring was extra deadly and Gavin fell a couple of
times and really scraped up his knees. He ended up with 7 band-aids
and some neosporin all for the low low price of $9!

I debated about posting the other 4 pictures that were suppose
to have me in it, but didn't because I couldn't remember how to use
the timer on my camera! There were some funny poses and faces.
Front: Chet, Karen, Faith, Gavin and I
Back: Dad, Mom, Madisen and Cody

Gavin in his new "Rookie" sleeping bag watching Little Einsteins.

I Pood!

Cody found this hanging from his truck at the bus stop the other day when he got off work. There is a very funny story that goes a long with it, but it would be TMI for too many people so we will have to share it another day. I just had to share the shirt because it's too funny! Thanks Oliver and Liz!

Mystery Monday #2

This is NOT what I cooked or at least not what we ate anyway! This was my toaster cord after I got done cooking dinner! I pushed the toaster over a little to far which pushed the cord onto one of my burners and Viola! cooked toaster cord. Can I say that my toaster is officially toast?

Also, my friend Liz and I are alternating Mystery Mondays so we only have to cook and come up with something every other Monday, so I won't be posting these every Monday.

Now for the recipes!

Chicken Enchilada Pasta (by Marilyn Anderson)

2 cans chicken
2 TBS olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
4 oz. can diced green chilies
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 (10 oz) cans mild green chili enchilada sauce
2/3 cup mild red enchilada sauce
1 can sliced olives
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
16 oz penne pasta

Cook pasta until tender. While pasta is cooking heat oil in a large skillet and add onion. Cook until translucent then add garlic and red pepper and cook 2 minutes until pepper is barely tender. Add chicken, green chilies, spices, enchilada sauces and olives. Let simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the sour cream and cheese and heat through until cheese melts. DO NOT BOIL. Pour sauce over the hot pasta and serve. The leftovers heat up nicely, that is if you even have any!

Death by Chocolate Cake (by Valene Erickson)

Mix: 4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Add: 1 box instant chocolate pudding
1 box chocolate cake mix
Beat until smooth
Stir: 1 pkg (12oz) Nestle Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pour mixture into buttered 13x9 pan. Bake at 35O degrees for 1 hour. Let cool and sift powdered sugar on top or frost with chocolate frosting

My Little Man is 3!

Here are a few tidbits about him:

He loves to sing and it's about the only time he pays attention during FHE. His favorite songs are:
-I Am a Child of God
-ABC Song
-Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
-Ring around the Rosies
-Do As I'm Doing

His favorite movies that he wants to watch over and over right now are Little Einsteins

He also loves story time, riding his "motorcycle" (tricycle) and can make it around our kidney bean shaped block in under 20 minutes!, licking the beaters after mommy has made treats, visiting Pompa Airplane @ work, playing with G&G's dog Charlotte, visiting the cows at Great G&G's, and playing with his cousins, Teagan and Kate.

He still loves, loves, loves airplanes, helicopters, trains and cars

Favorite Foods: banana's, applesauce, mashed potatoes, broccoli, chocolate milk, chocolate cake, raspberries and Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Ice cream.

He only gives out 1 hug and 1 kiss at bedtime and we never know which one of us is going to get a hug and who will get the kiss and there is no changing it, it's whatever he decides!

He loves bubble baths and is really good at brushing his teeth and letting mommy floss them without fussing.

He also loves "reading" his "airplane books" which are just airplane magazines that my mom gives him (see above picture).

We love you Gavin, Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Gavin!

Every year I decorate Gavin's room for his birthday. It landed on a Monday this year and we had the family birthday party on Saturday, so we decorated his room Friday night that way we could both be home to see his reaction. His birthday literally lasted all weekend and the beginning of the next week!

Gavin is suddenly obsessed with basketball hoops. We drive down the street and he points out every basketball hoop he sees in someone's yard so we decided to get him his own for his birthday and he loved it!

Gavin's Birthday Cake

He lives and breathes for airplanes so I decided to make him a cake that looks like they are "flying in the sky". He was pretty excited about it.

(Not sure why this picture keeps turning upside down, but whatever!) For weeks Gavin has been telling everyone that he is 6 so I stacked the cupcakes for the kids and put 6 candles on it for his as a joke.

Blowing out his candles

All tuckered out after his birthday party

This is what he looked like after eating "chocolate cake" on his actual birthday on Monday

He got some birthday money so I took him to Toys R Us to pick something out and of course he wanted yet another "rollercopter". He has about 6 now, but it was cheap so we were able to put the rest of his birthday money in his piggy bank. He also got a balloon and a crown because it was his birthday.

I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said "Go see Pompa Airplane" (meaning my mom who works for Queen Bee Air Specialists). He loves to go to the hangers and see all the airplanes. We go there so much practically all the airplane mechanics know him on a first name basis.

He wanted chocolate milk and a hamburger for lunch so we made a stop at Wendy's

Smoke anyone?

This was his chocolate cake that we made for his actual birthday. The recipe is on my Mystery Monday Post.

HILARIOUS!

A quick catch up

I have a legitimate excuse for not blogging for so long. Our dinosaur of a computer finally decided that after 7 years it had had enough and went to computer heaven. Now we have a new computer and I am no longer isolated from the rest of the world, yeah! Here are a couple of pictures from the last few weeks:

My handsome little man

Snowmobiling with Grandpa

"I did it all by myself"

Give me a banana and no one gets hurt

Mr. Fish is Back!

Last weekend we had my two kids AND my sister's dog for the weekend. Not wanting my third sibling to feel left out I called him to see if he had a goldfish or something that he wanted me to babysit for him. We left our house for a while and this is what we came home too:

It is the same fish from previous posts that has been used in many pranks and jokes and now he is back...where will he go next? So many possibilities...

A close up of the note that was taped to him

Mystery Monday

I have become very bored with my menus and having the same things over and over again so I have begun what I am referring to as "Mystery Mondays." Every Monday I make a dinner with a recipe that I have never used before therefore making dinner a Mystery, will it be good or will we be ordering pizza later? I have gotten a few recipes from my small collection of recipe books as well as some from friends, family, and magazines. So far we have not had to order pizza...yet (cross your fingers). I have decided to start sharing the yummy recipes with you all so that if you are stuck in a rut like I was you can enjoy something new. ( I failed to take pictures of the end product, but will try to remember to do it next time.)

Liz's Altered Hicken Chicken

8 slices thin deli ham
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 slices provolone cheese
3 cans cream of chicken
3/4 cup water
2 cups seasoned stuffing mix
1/3 cup melted butter

Arrange chicken breasts in a 9X13 baking dish. Place one piece of ham followed by one slice of ham on each piece of chicken.
Combine soup and water and spoon over the chicken.
Coarsely crush stuffing mix and sprinkle over chicken and drizzle butter on top
Bake uncovered @ 350 degrees for 50-55 min.
Serve over rice


Lorna Doone Banana Dessert

Place Lorna Doone's (shortbread cookies) in the bottom of a 9x13 in pan
Slice 6-8 banana's and cover cookies

#1- Mix together sweetened condensed milk with 8 oz cream cheese

#2-Fold together instant French Vanilla, already made, (plain vanilla will work if you can't find french) with 12 oz Cool Whip

Mix together #1 and #2 and spread over the bananas and cookies. Put in fridge to chill.

New Use For Everyday Household Items

Yes ladies and gentlemen, those are maxi pads stuck to my window. Who knew they could be so versatile. They have also demonstrated an alternative, but very common) use for toilet paper. What will they think of next?
P.S. This posting is brought to you by the creative minds of Oliver and Liz Lewis