What is it about cold weather?

Are any of you enjoying this 57 degree day besides me?  I don't know what it is but I love it!  I've literally been in my kitchen all day.  I'm not baking like most of you but instead cooking up some great winter soup, homemade rolls and of course dinner.  Do any of you make dinner in the morning like I do?  It is the only time I can do it.  For some reason my family falls apart between the hours of 3:30 and 6:00 pm.  It's probably that I fall apart during this time with all the homework, piano practice, after school activities and chasing kids on bikes down the street. I almost always make my dinner first thing so that it is all ready to reheat (I know it's a little gross to reheat) come dinner time!

Today I made my FAVORITE soup for lunch.  If you are a veggie lover like me, you will love this soup. My Mom cut the recipe out of the Arizona Republic years ago.  It is from Bahama Breeze and is called Yucatan Chicken and Tortilla Soup, although it is nothing like a tortilla soup. Not only does it taste delicious, but it is so pretty.  I usually make mine without the chicken since I'm not a huge fan of meat.  Try it out and let me know what you think! Sorry for the horrible picture.  I was so hungry I just wanted to hurry and eat!

Yucatan Chicken and Tortilla Soup

From Bahama Breeze Restaurant

1 TBSP olive oil

1 cup calabaza squash, cut into 1/2 inch dice

 (can substitute with pumpkin but I love Butternut Squash)

1/2 cup red onion, cup into 1/2 inch dice

2 tsp sliced jalapeno, no seeds

1 tsp chopped garlic

8 cups canned chicken broth

1 1/2 cups corn kernels, canned and drained

1 cup jicama, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 cup tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch dice

salt to taste

freshly squeezed lime juice 1/4 cup

1 tsp chopped oregano

1 pound cooked chicken breast sliced.

Heat the oil in a large pot until hot.  Add the squash, onion, jalapeno and garlic, then saute until they loose their raw appearance.  Add the chicken broth, corn, jicama and tomatoes then bring to boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is tender.  Season to taste with salt, then add the lime juice, oregano and fully cooked sliced chicken breast.  Simmer and additional 5 minutes then cut the heat.

After dishing up soup, garnish with avocado, crushed tortilla chips and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

How about these beauties?  I'm whipping these up as we speak (yea right, they take 4 hours to rise!!) Can't wait to snack on these as they come out of the oven!

What do you like to do on freezing cold days?

Just Like The Big Boys!

Ledger has finally taken an interest in his bike (well the red bike that has been handed down from Brody and then Case).  Up until now, he has only wanted to ride his Skidder car around the neighborhood.  I finally convinced him to give it a try and now he couldn't be more excited about riding a bike "Like the Big Boys!" He cruises up and down the street with the kids thinking he is sooo cool!  

There's that red Skidder car I was talking about. 

 I think he's about the run it over on his cool bike!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with a super yummy lunch at Sugar's house.  We ate, watched football, rode bikes, ate some more, got in the Jacuzzi and ate again.  The highlights of the day were playing with the older cousins' I Phones, especially the fart and Ugly/Sexy apps.  It's so fun for my boys to hang with their visiting cousins.  They are so sweet and patient with each of them. It was a great day for us all.  I wish it could last longer since it's one of my favorite holidays. I love reflecting on how truly thankful I am for all the blessing I continue to receive in my life.  I am a lucky mama!

Oh goodness...I'm so so dreading family Christmas pictures this year.  We just can't get it together for the perfect picture!

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning.

The "Kid" table.  Brody 7, Case 5, Ledger 3, Presley 2 and Paisley 2. The conversation at the  kid table went something like this, "Presley, stop pushing the table." "Don't do that!" " Stop talking and eat your food."  "Mom...can I be full?"

After lunch we headed outside for some bike riding.  The boys were in heaven!

Ledger was having a blast with cousin Madison.  He kept picking him up on his bike and swirling him all around.  Ledger couldn't stop laughing.  

How funny is this picture of Madison jumping over Ledger on his bike?  What a fun day for my kids and their cousins.

Some of the adults even joined us outside the watch the kids play.  The weather was chilly and perfect.  I love fall weather!

Little Turkeys...and an Indian

Yesterday Ledger celebrated Thanksgiving at Preschool with a feast and tons of fun!  He made a cute card for our family along with a turkey headband. He ate veggies with Ranch Dip along with popcorn and cotton candy (yeeeesss the Pilgrims brought cotton candy to their feast!) What a fun way to celebrate Thanksgiving with preschool friends!

Ledger and his cute cousin Jack Stradling. The two cutest turkeys in Preschool!

Today Case's Kindergarten class had a Thanksgiving feast in the classroom.  Each family was assigned a food to bring so the kids could have a little of everything.  Case got to bring in veggies with Ranch (our signature dish!).  It was fun watching him eat with all his friends in Kindergarten!
Case and Jefferson.  Case chose to be an Indian for the class feast today because, "Jefferson chose to be a Pilgrim and the Pilgrims and the Indians were friends and I can help Jefferson because the Indians helped the Pilgrims." By the way...can you believe these two boys are the same age?  Jefferson looks like he is 2 grades ahead of Case.  What are you feeding this boy Libby?
Ms. Cindy and Mrs. Hebting getting ready for the Kindergarten feast.  Looks good!

 

Twas' The Night Before Thanksgiving...

...and we went to El Charro, cause that's what we always do the night before Thanksgiving! 

It has always been tradition for our family to meet at El Charro the night before Thanksgiving.  I think it is most of Mesa's tradition to meet at El Charro this night cause we see most of them there year after year.  Since our family usually comes to town to celebrate with us, we all gather for bean burros and salsa before we get ready for our feast!  After dinner we all head home and start our preparations for the BIG day! Mine is ALWAYS the relish tray.  I'm only trusted with the celery, carrots, cucumber, cauliflower, celery/cream cheese, and olives. Oh and let's not forget the famous Ranch Dip!  I'm ok with that though.  I am not at all offended that I'm not asked to make the pies or even the turkey.  I make a dang good relish tray and I'm proud of it!  One day I'll be in charge of the BIG stuff, but right now, I'm happy that I ONLY have to cute veggies and mix some dip!  What are your Thanksgiving responsibilities each year...?

Keeping the traditon alive by going to El Charro (all 26 of us) the night before Thanksgiving.

Uncle Phil and Ledger.

Baby Cave, Kunkle and Presley.

Madison and Wayne.

Chandler, Ledger, Brody, John and Hayley.

Grandpa and Grandma.

Madison and Miss. B.

Paisley, Christian, Grandma and Emily.

Miss B., Jeremy, Uncle Brett and Case.

Sugar and John.

Hayley, Miss B. Me, and Chandler.

Ledger and Aunt Wendy.  

Sorry to Uncle Chris, Aunt Michel, and Jim who I have no pictures.

Lucky Boys!

Yesterday, Brody and Case got to have lunch at school with their cute cousins Chandler and Hayley (and their super HOT auntie Lisa!!) We went and picked up Sonic and headed to the school for a fun filled lunch in the cafeteria. Actually we went to Sonic, ate with Case, went back to Sonic and ate with Brody. The boys were thrilled to have the girls there.  They got LOTS of attention from the boys in their classes who were all wondering who the cute Texas girls were.  What a fun lunch day for these 2 school boys!  Thanks Chandler, Hayley and Aunt Lisa for making them feel so special!   

Hayley, Brody, Mason Allen and Chandler. Picture of Case and the girls coming as soon as Hayley emails them to me.

You Can Help School Children In South Africa!

So you all know how passionate I am about kids and education.  I loved teaching and would still be doing it if I wasn't raising these 4 wild turkey's of mine.  My cousin Sarah and her cute family have been living in South Africa since July.  Their experiences there have been amazing to say the least.  She is raising money to buy gifts for the school children in South Africa and needs our help! Read her letter below and let me know if you are interested.  I know we will be supporting her efforts

I have the amazing opportunity to volunteer at a school for less fortunate children here in South Africa. My friends and I are trying to put together a lunchbox full of necessities (i.e. toothbrush, toothpaste, soap), a piece of fruit, a treat and a small gift for these kids for Christmas. There are 175 children and while we are trying to keep expenses down it is getting a bit pricey. So I thought, why not ask my generous friends and family to help us out! If you are able too and interested a SMALL (we only need about $10 per child) donation would be greatly appreciated! Since it would be crazy to send the check here to SA, I am thinking it could be sent to my wonderful mother and then she could deposit it in my checking account (thanks in advance mom).  Her address is 1551 N. Delmar, Mesa, AZ 85203. We plan to give them their gifts at a small party we are giving them on December 3rd. Sorry for the short notice :)

If there is excess funds  it will all be given to the school to help with their abundant needs. It costs about $60 a month for each child to attend this school and many of the families can't pay. It is a Christian school that relies solely on donations. I love love love these kids and I am very impressed with how this school operates, especially because of their limited funds. Most of these kids are in such destitute situations that this school is there only real chance for a good future. 

I have attached some pics...just to pull on your heart-strings!

I love ya and miss ya! Thanks for your help and feel free to forward this to anyone I may have accidentally left out or didn't have in my address book.

Love,

Sarah  

Veteran's Day

Today we spent our day off with 2 of our favorite Veteran's.  If you have read my blog over the years then you know that my grandparents both served in WWII.  Their stories are awesome.  It always amazes me that they remember their time in the services like it happened yesterday.  They are 86 years old yet when they talk about the events that took place, they don't forget a detail.  It's amazing! 

 Our day started off with a carry out from El Charro.  Since my Grandma just got out of the hospital yesterday, she wasn't up for leaving the house.  After our super yummy lunch, each of the boys took turns playing songs on the keyboard.  I think both Grandma and Grandpa got a kick out of what the boys have learned this year.  They especially got excited when Brody played "I Am A Child Of God." I get pretty excited when he plays it too!  After some showing off on the keyboard, my Grandpa took the boys into the back bedroom and let them try on his military jacket.  Oh my was this exciting.  They were practically fighting over them which made me a bit nervous since they have medals and purple hearts hanging from them!! They looked so darling wearing them!  It was hard not to picture my Grandma and Grandpa in their early twenties wearing them proudly.  That is what makes their generation so wonderful.  They are proud of our Country.  They love America because they have lived through both the ups and downs.  It is truly amazing and wonderful.  I love my grandparents not only because they served our Country, but because they are such great examples to me.

After we left my Grandparents house, I dropped Case, Ledger and Miss B. off with a sitter and took Brody to see the movie Mega Mind. It was kinda nice that the others didn't want to go cause I got to spend some time with just Brody.  We had so much fun laughing and talking.  I love my one on one time with him.  I am always amazed when I talk to him.  He is so smart and insightful.  We had a great time together! I wish we had more days off of school so that I could spend quality time with each of my kids.  Maybe we should have "ditch days" each month so I can do something fun with my kiddos.  Something to defiantly think about!

Brody and GPa.

This is my Grandma's Navy jacket.  It is so itty bitty I can't even believe she ever fit in it!  Looking good Case Man!

Handsome little Ledger.  You are too cute in that jacket!

Poor Miss B. wanted to wear GPa's jacket but every time I put it on her she would fall over because it is so heavy.  Thankfully Case was there to hold her up long enough to get a picture.

Here are the medals on my Grandpa's jacket.  So amazing when you stop and think what each represents!  

  Happy Veteran's Day!

Future Hunters

Early Saturday morning, Jeremy packed up the boys and took them scouting for Elk. They were so excited for this little trip with Dad that they could hardly sleep the night before.  They had enough snacks and goodies for a week, not to mention all the sugary drinks you could think of. They had camouflage pants, shirts, hats and shoes.  They had binoculars and goggles for riding in the Ranger.  They had a month supply of beef jerky, per Case's request, along with a few healthy thing like bananas and apples.

They scouted the Heber Overgard area but unfortunately didn't see a thing.  They mostly enjoyed riding around on the bumpy road and throwing rocks in the little lake.  After a long day, my hunter men headed up to the cabin for dinner at Red Devil pizza and warm showers. Sunday morning they woke up and had a huge home cooked breakfast and spent the day playing and enjoying the fall weather.  They arrived home safely Sunday night around 6:00 just in time for me to head to a really long Cub Scout meeting.  I'm so happy Jeremy is able to take our boys on little outings like this.  I am even more happy that I was able to have a girl's only weekend with Miss B. even if it consisted of cleaning and organizing my horribly messy office!

Did I mention that there were 5 Dad's and 9 kids on the scouting trip?

Brody, Brayden, Presley, Case, Devin, Ledger, Mackenzie, Hayden and Ethan.

Presley, Case and Brody rode in the back of the Ranger.  Jeremy, Ledger and H in the front.

Love these little hunters!

Ledger and Ethan go to preschool together.

Case looked super hard for something moving in the distance but NOTHING!

Presley and Mackenzie.

What is it with throwing rocks into a lake? (Does this even qualify as a lake?  It looks more like a watering hole to me!) It seems like all kids LOVE throwing things into water!

Kunkle and Ledger looking for SOMETHING!

The Hall Of Flame

One of the best things about being a stay at home Mom is the opportunity I have to attend field trips with my elementary school kids.  This past Wednesday I was able to attend the Hall Of Flame Firefighters Museum in Tempe.  Since this was Case's first field trip, he was excited and I have to say, so was I!  I love being able to see my kids and how they interact with friends. This was one of the most interesting field trips I have ever attended!  First off, the "tour guide" was one of a kind!!  He was about 80 years old and not the most positive man on Earth!  He would be talking to the kids and they would be listening and paying really close attention.  And in the middle of his "speech" he would yell out, "BOOM" or "BANG" or something like it SUPER loud.  The kids would all scream in fright and then he would carry on. Many times I would look over and see kids with tears in their eyes.  He would ask if anyone had a question and when they didn't ask a question and instead made a comment, he would say, "That's not a question." "I asked if anyone had a question." He was constantly telling the kids, "Noooo"when they didn't answer a question correctly.  It was unlike anything I had ever witnessed.  Halfway through the tour, we moved to a different guide who was equally as "Rough!" So this  guide takes us outside and is showing the Kindergartners how they used to put out fire's in the "old" days.  He has the kids stand in a looooong line and then proceeds to explain that the first firefighter would scoop up the water in a bucket (he is demonstrating by dipping a paint bucket in an enormous trough) and then they would pass the bucket down the line and the last man in line would throw the water on the fire.  So as he is explaining this, he goes up to MY CASE and THROWS the bucket of water in his face!!! Not over his head, not on his feet, right in his face.  He of course didn't see it coming and he is CHOKING on water.  The guide continues talking and proceeds to do the same thing to another boy who immediately starts crying when the unsuspecting water flies into his face.  The guide then says to the crying boy, "Well now don't cry.  Why are you crying?  It was just a joke!" I thought I was gonna die!  I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed!  It was so bizarre!  Case was a good sport about it but man, not his mama who was lucky enough to have witnessed the whole thing! It was quite the field trip!  

This was the little group I was responsible for. They were a great bunch of kids!

Case was one of the only kids who could climb to the top of the pole.  He is so strong and athletic!

Kindergarten Friends.

On the bus!

Firetrucks are so cool...

...but spraying a real fire hose is even better! That's the ding dong tour guide who drenched my unsuspecting son!

Case and Jefferson...too cute!!