First day of school

I'm not even a full week behind schedule. I'm only six days past the first day of school. The kids were excited, all smiles, ready for the first day.

This week's menu

A few of us were talking over the Labor Day weekend about sharing our menu plans. I'm one that likes to fix something different (not necessarily new out of a cookbook) every night and not duplicate more than a couple of times in a months time. It is not always easy to come up with 30 dinners at once. I thought it would be fun to try posting at the end of the week what we had for dinner all week. Some like to plan ahead for the week, some figure it out at dinner time. Posting at the end of the week will give us something to post no matter how we do things!!!

Monday - grilled hamburgers/fruit tray

Tuesday - grilled salmon burgers/salad/fruit

Wednesday - Sundried tomato basil mozerella chicken burgers from Costco (kind of gross, in my opinion) /salad
(I had a lot of onion buns that I needed to use, thus the burgers, burgers, and more burgers!)

Thursday - oriental chicken wraps (popcorn chicken from Costco, lettuce, cheese, grated carrots, bacon bits, Yoshida's original sauce, lightly fried tortillas) (a favorite!)

Friday - end of the first week of school PIZZA by request/ ceasar salad

Saturday - NEW: tajitos (a cross between tacos and fajitas) fresh lemon chicken from Costco baked and chunked, lettuce, cheese, sauteed peppers/onions, guacamole, lime creme (50/50 mayo, sour cream, lime juice, tiny bit of sugar). YUM!

I'm looking forward to getting ideas from you all!

Summer's End

Lake Roosevelt marks our Summer's End

where...

...even the dogs have to "ruff" it by using rocks for pillows,

...each year something new and fun is engineered,

...mommy gets a little bit more brave,


...new rules get added to the game of golf,

...good books get read,
...sea monsters are up close and SCARY,

(you've get to enlarge the pictures to really see these faces!)


...bubbles fly,

...boys race,

...some mommys get bored with books and sunbathing,


...that same mommy knows how to create,...sand castles get more creative as the kids get older,

...dogs that don't like to swim find the nearest floaty toy,

...some floaty toys are just too big,

...fishing season begins,

...the sunsets are beautiful endings.

Time for some updates!

Destruction...I mean Construction has begun. The first step of the addition was to fall a huge cedar tree.

Notice the placement of the tree - not a branch touching the garden or the property line. Thanks, Dad, for an excellent job! It has been more than 50 years since my dad worked in the woods, but he hasn't lost his touch.
Kaylee Anne turned 4 years old. Tessa made a countdown birthday cake for her.

This is what awaited Kaylee on the morning of her birthday.

~Four~~Food~

~Flowers~

~Fun~

Ask a four year old what she wants for her birthday dinner and this is what you get..."egg rolls; cheese and crackers; cake" I should have known! A "Snacky Dinner" is her favorite so I tried to accommodate with a salmon thrown in for the adults.

I found out that I grew a garden for a four year old girl. That came in handy this year.

After all the presents were opened, she didn't know what to play with first, the bike or the stroller, so she did both!



~Convention Kids~

"The Next Generation"

~Orthodontics~

The big kids are now walking around with their birthday, christmas, everything else presents in their mouth for the next 18 months. Tessa has started a 2 phase treatment and Trevon a 3 phase treatment.

~Front yard picnic, just for fun!~

Desert Aire

Our weekend with the Y's in Desert Aire was so relaxing. They have a beautiful house on the water and there's nothing to do but enjoy each other and the peaceful surroundings. We joked about being such boring people!

Randy tried rock climbing for the first time. He didn't do too bad.

Then we made him turn around for a picture!

Austyn and Robbyn came for a visit at G'pa and G'ma's