Power of the Priesthood

Family scripture time is one of those things that we do as a family because we are supposed to, but honestly sometimes it feels like a waste of time.  The kids are always rambunctious, doing somersaults on the floor, climbing on chairs, fighting over who gets to do what or sit where, and just being loud.  Often time we have to shout to be heard over them!  But every once in a while I'm reminded why it is we persist.

A few days ago we were reading about the apostles after Jesus died and how they had the priesthood and used it to heal others.  I talked with Landon about how he would get the priesthood when he turned 12.  It was about a 30 second talk before we moved on.  

A couple days later I was driving with him in the car when he randomly asked me, "When boys get older (like dads) will they still have the priesthood?"  I was just shocked that he'd actually remembered something from scripture study and I decided to use it as a teaching moment.  I told him that as long as boys choose the right they will always have the priesthood no matter how old they are.  Then I asked him if he knows what you can do with the priesthood.  I said, "Can you think of anything special that daddy's can do but that mommy's can't do?"

He paused for a moment and I could see the wheels turning in his head.  Then finally his face lit up and he shouted, "Build things!!!"  :)

I did go on to set him straight but I still loved his answer.  :)

Cailyn's Halloween Party

Cailyn has a really good group of friends at school this year. We talked about having a couple over for a Halloween craft but it kinda turned into a full-blown Halloween party!  (Which was fine with me because poor Cailyn is almost 9 years old and never had a birthday party!) But we did keep it pretty simple and the girls had a great time.

We had some Halloween themed treats and sodas.  (Funny story -- when the girls were occupied with a game I found Owen & Jacob sipping on all their sodas!!!)

Goodie bags using a bunch of stuff we got on clearance after Halloween last year.  I'm so thrifty.  :P

The girls each got a small pumpkin to decorate with paints and Sharpies.

Then we made some water bracelets.  Some of the girls were SO not good at these!

All in all it was a fun party and the girls had a great time.  I'm so glad Cailyn is part of such a fun group of girls. And I'm also glad that she was nice to her brother and was more that happy to include him in it.  :)

Weekly Menu

Erika's post inspired me to get cooking and I totally stole some of her ideas! :)


Mon - Winger's wraps
Tue - bowtie pasta, rolls
Wed - taco soup, cornbread
Thu - sloppy joes
Fri - BBQ chicken pizza
Sat - leftovers

Dinner menu...a little late

Yeah I meant to post this at the beginning of the week but here it is Friday. Oh well! I actually have many blog posts awaiting my free time but I will get to them eventually :)

Dinners:
1.wingers sticky finger wraps
2. Creamy chicken flautas
3. French toast with buttermilk syrup
4. Bowie chicken pasta, breadsticks (I don't remember where I got this recipe but it is delicious so the recipe is at the end of the post :))
5. Tortilla soup, cornbread (double for freezing)

Breakfast:
Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oats in the Crockpot

Dessert
Yummy brownies


Chicken Bowtie Pasta

    Servings: 8
    Categories: Chicken & Other Poultry, Italian, Pasta
    Source: Picky Palate


Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 large chicken breasts lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
    • 1 pound mini bowtie pasta
    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
    • 3/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
    • 2 cups sliced mushrooms
    • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
    • 4 cups broccoli florets
    • 15 ounce can large butter beans or other white bean
    • 15 ounce can reduced sodium chicken broth
    • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
    • 1/2 cup prepared basil pesto
    • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
    • 1 cup cooked, crumbled bacon pieces
 

Directions

1. Heat oil in a medium cast iron skillet over medium heat. Place lightly seasoned chicken breast into hot skillet and cook for about 4 minutes per side, until lightly golden brown. Transfer skillet to a preheated 350 degree oven and continue baking for 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Let chicken rest for a good 15 minutes.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, run under cold water and set aside.
3. Place oil into a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Saute onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic and broccoli for 10 minutes. Stir in beans, chicken broth, cream, pesto and Parmesan cheese. Stir until well combined and reduce heat to low. Stir in pasta, bacon crumbles and chicken.  Simmer until ready to serve. Note: Stir pasta every 5 minutes if not serving right away. It thickens quick and needs stirred.  Add additional broth, cream or milk to loosen sauce.

Swap Meet Spoils

Okay I'm feeling totally lame for not posting anything in forever and not even checking this blog in forever!  Life has suddenly become crazy busy for me.  I've got kids that start school at 3 different times and there has been a lot of running/driving around involved with that.  Plus story time every week, helping out in Landon's class, my calling, Colby's calling ... the list goes on and on.  Just busy!  But I finally caught up and LOVE seeing what everyone's up to and I'm so happy we have this blog.  :)

Mom, Emilee, Cailyn & I went to the swap meet today and had such a great time.  Isn't the swap meet the best girls day tradition we have?!  I totally scored today and thought I'd share what I got.  A purse (yes, it's just like Emilee's!), 3 skirts, a denim shirt, and 3 nail polishes.  Oh, and some DELICIOUS hummus (though it's more of a feta cheese dip than hummus). 

We had such a good time!  Plus, this is the day we will always remember that changed Emilee's life.  ;) 

Smarty Pants

Sorry I'm monopolizing the blog.  Here's a quick video of Connor being a little smarty pants.  He was sitting on my lap watching T.V. after I fed him when he started to fuss a little.  I started making that noise and he watched me do it for about 30 seconds or so and he started doing it to! I just started laughing.  So I did a little experiment to see if he would do it more and I got this video. What a silly boy! I love him! P.S. sorry the quality of the video isn't very good, I just took it with my ipod! Oh well, at least I got it!

Circus Circus!

A few weeks ago when I was on my way to eat lunch with Tyler, I saw a billboard on the side of the freeway. The Ringling Brother's Barnum & Bailey Circus was coming to town!!! Tyler and I were lucky enough to get tickets and go on our 2nd date since Connor was born! It was the MOST FUN we've had in a long time.  It was absolutely incredible!

 

The lion and tigers were really great to see! It's amazing how many things you can train those animals to do!  The lion was HUGE!  We were cheering so loud for him!

 

They had the elephants do a lot of iconic tricks.  It reminded me of Dumbo when all of the elephants were performing in the big top.  I'm just glad that we didn't have any angry elephants.

 We got expensive cotton candy.  I couldn't believe how expensive it was! 12$! But it did come with the awesome hat. We were on a sugar high for the rest of the night.  That cotton candy got us so pumped!

They put 8 motorcycles in that metal cage! It was crazy!  I couldn't believe they all fit in there!

Outside of the arena they had a few of the box cars.  It's awesome to think that the circus has been around as long as it has and they still transport their equipment with train cars!  I love it!

Tyler and I loved it!  We will definitely take Connor some day!  Doesn't he look adorable in our expensive cotton candy hat!?!?!

The Hogle Zoo

A couple of weeks ago, Connor & I went to the Hogle Zoo with Aunt Niki.  It was pretty fun, but it was probably the craziest day I've had in a long time!  We got our tires changed that morning and then went straight to the zoo.  Connor was being so good at Walmart when we were changing the tires, he even fell asleep! I decided that we would just go straight to the zoo from Walmart, since he was sleeping.  Then he woke up on the freeway demanding food.  He was so mad for 15 or 20 minutes.  So when we finally got to the zoo parking lot, all I could do to calm him down was feed him in the parking lot.  

When Connor was done we made it into the park.  Connor was doing his business when he was eating so I needed to change him.  It was EVERYWHERE. That's outfit #1.  I clean him up and change him out of his clothes.  When I'm finishing up he throws up.  ALL OVER his clean outfit! Ugh. It was mostly on his jacket, but still I had to change him again.  Outfit #2.  When we went to eat he threw up again all over the floor.  The lady at the register just looked at me like, you better not ask me to clean that up. (I didn't ask her) So after outfit 3, he fell asleep and managed to stay in it for a while. :) 

He was asleep for most of the park but he did see a few animals.  He saw elephants . . . but you wouldn't really know because Aunt Niki took the picture with the elephant's bum showing. Nice one! lol

 

We saw some rhinos . . . There was a little cave that you go in and you can see them right in front of you, which is where the photo was taken from.  Off to the side there is a button that you can push and above it it says, "What's that smell?!?" We didn't push the button, it just seemed really funny to me.

 
There were lemurs . . . 

 

And some hairy monkeys that I don't remember the name of. . .

 

Even though the day started off a little hectic, we had a lot of fun with Aunt Niki!

We can't wait to go to the zoo again!  Hopefully, next time Daddy will be able to come too!

Weekly menu... The comeback!

I'm so freakin excited to finally have food in my kitchen again and have my pots and pans back :). Cooking! Yay! We shall see how long I'm this excited lol. I have decided not to make my menus by day because I never end up making what I think I'm going to on the day I think I'm going to make it.

Dinners:
1. Chili dogs, French fries
2. Wisconsin cauliflower soup in bread bowls (double for freezing)
3.creamy chicken flautas (double for freezing), rice
4. Easy Philly cheesestakes
5. Fettuccine Alfredo, garlic bread

Breakfast:
Eggs, hash browns, veggi sausage

Desserts:
Oatmeal cookies