I am proud to be an American!!

I AM proud to be an American and to enjoy the freedoms I enjoy. I can think of so many things I am grateful for and the freedoms I enjoy because I live in America. Today I want to give a big shout out to my Brother-in-law Max. He left on Wednesday to serve in Afghanistan for the next 6 months. So while we are here enjoying our freedoms there are so many over there fighting to keep our freedoms. Max is in the Air force and recently graduated top in his class with a language degree. We are so proud of him and admire and love him. So not only THANK YOU to him, but to all of those men and women who are on Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq or wherever they may be. I know some of them haven't seen their families in months, maybe years, I know some of them are hurt badly, I know there are some who are missing or are prisoners of war and I know I could never bear to see the things the see and mostly I know MANY, MANY have died in their fight. We owe so much to them!!

Happy Independence Day!!

Summer Fun Day #2-Train Ride

For Summer Fun Day #2 we went on a Train Ride. We had to wait out in the cold wind for 30 minutes, but it was well worth the wait. We boarded the train around 9:30 am. We even got to sit by some friends of ours. It was a lot of fun...it really made me want to go on an Amtrak Vacation someday.

As Caleb would say "All aboard, let's Go!!"...

We were able to sit on the 2nd floor (or the double decker part) of the train and as we were going I saw SO many things that I had NEVER seen before. I have been down the old highway hundreds of times and I can't believe what I have been missing. I kinda had a bird's eye view of things being way up high, it was pretty cool! Now I know why people have always wished they had wings....

Caleb said "Hi" to every cow, fence, canal, train, big truck, he saw. He also loved the bird's eye view...all those cows he'd been missing out on!

Emily and her little friend Violet. They had fun sitting by each other.

 We were so sad when the ride was over. It was a bit bumpy and swayed in a few spots, but it was so much fun!!!

Ben's Mom and Grandma even made a cute train cake for a treat after our ride. It turned out really cute and the kids LOVED it! Emily decorated the front of the train...

***And for a fun little train fact: when a train blows the horn while going through town, long ago the people of the town knew it meant "The queen has arrived"...funny huh!

I also wanted to include this fun recipe. It is Key Lime Pie and I made it with the limes I got in my bountiful basket last week, it was DELISH! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• 3 cups sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup key lime juice
• 1 tablespoon grated lime zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

 

My hero, my helpmeet, my confidant, my BEST FRIEND!!!

Ben's Birthday was yesterday and I didn't get a chance to post about it. I am so lucky to have him for an eternity!!! He is one of the best people you will ever know and always makes me feel like I am the most important thing in his life! He is a great DAD!! My kids absolutely ADORE Daddy (as do I)!!! I love you Sweetie! 

Happy 27th!!!

Bountiful Baskets.....Love them!!!

Recently I heard of this company who sell baskets of fresh fruits and veggies. Go here to read more about them. It is a volunteer, non-profit company. So this morning at 8:30 I went and volunteered and then received my basket. It was really amazing to see how many people showed up to help, what a great way to bring a community together. I wanted to take a picture of my basket of items. I received a conventional fruits and veggies basket and a Mexican basket and only paid $24.00. The produce was all really fresh, authentic and just wonderful! I am so excited to get cooking. I am determined to use every bit of it....I'll post recipes as I go along.

 Here is my basket:

Looks Yummy Huh!!! I can't wait, tonight I am making Key Lime pie with those plump key limes!!!

"Summer Fun Days" #1-Spud Museum

When Ben was little his family always did summer fun days. They picked a day each week and did something special. They all had so much fun and make so many precious memories. So along with Ben's Mom and Grandma we put together a list of some fun things to do this summer. 

Our first days we decided to go to the Spud Museum (believe it or not I have never been, or at least don't remember it, if I have). It was really interesting. I love that it used to be the old Oregon Short Line Railroad Depot. They even had some of the old railroad benches throughout the museum. Ben's Great Grandpa Earl Tanner (he was the original owner of E.M. Tanner and Sons Welding Co., who makes potato machinery) is in the Potato Hall of Fame, so his name was displayed on a plaque and one of his first machines is also in the museum. Fun for my kids to see...

Love the painted potatoes how appropriate! :)

One of the First machines Ben's Grandpa made for Milestone.

Ben's Grandpa's name on the plaque

Future Potato Farmer

I thought this was funny...

Afterward we went back and had lunch. Our lunch included: POTATO chips, Tater tots, Mini Idaho Spuds (not really made out of potatoes...I don't think), fudge/truffles made to look like a baked potato (featured on the Food Network--Woot woot!) We had a lot of fun!!!!

Coming Next Week......Train Ride, this will be a first for me and my kids.

I have been attacked by a skunk.....

Okay okay well maybe not, but PRACTICALLY....

For the past 2 nights as the evening closes and I cozy on down into my 500 thread count sheets (maybe that is not a high thread count for some, like Oprah, but for me it is luxury!) and I lay my head on my soft, COMFORTABLE pillow and enjoy the FRESH air coming through the window RIGHT by my head, close my eyes....sigh and drift off to a peaceful slumber (Can you feel the peace?) ONLY to be woke up minutes later by the smell of SKUNK coming through MY window!!! Ugh!! 

I then fly into a rage of madness by the foul smell, get out of bed complain and wake up Ben (I have to have him smell it too-of course) close the window and start the journey back into bed. The 2nd time is never as pleasant as the first, so instead of climbing nicely into bed, I begrudgingly throw myself onto the bed and slam my head down on my pillow and pout....

So Dear Mr. Skunk,

You have shared your lovely aroma with us for the last 2 nights, now it is time to pack your bags and leave. We (okay maybe just I) would sure appreciate it!! Or else you might catch me running around in the middle of the night looking something like this...

So watch out !!! 

 P.S If anyone else has this problem and are interested in a scare away the skunks costume, please let me know, you can borrow mine, it may not smell that great but it works!   

Memorial Day 2010

We were busy, busy on memorial day! We woke up at 6:00am and headed for Idaho Falls. We went to the Veteran Memorial and then to Rose Hill Cemetery to see the 21 Gun salute and see as they raised the flags and place the Memorial wreath. It was a really touching experience.

 This was such a cute picture of Emily. She was so good all day and really enjoyed spending time with us.....I think...hahaha

 

After the memorial we went to Tauphus Park. It was bright and early in the morning, all the animals were wide awake and wanting food. The weather cooperated and I snapped some fun photos. I wanted to share them, so warning this may be boring to some....

I really didn't care for the look this Lion was giving me...I am sure his thought bubble was something like......"Food, must eat....she looks nice and plump!!"

The famous "Lion's Mouth" fountain....

This Tiger kept growling and growling. The more we told him to the more he growled, my kids loved it. In the picture below as we were turning the corner we saw the statue and told Emily the Tiget had gotten out, I wished I would have captured the look on her face. We are mean I know!

Look at the size of those paws!

 

The camels are hideous!! BUT I had to have a picture.....

Not that we compare to the camels....Well hopefully not........I think the parents had as much fun as the kids.

While looking at the Tiger Ben's Aunt Shiela came around the corner, it was a nice surprise.

WE LOVED THE OTTERS!!! They are so funny, Caleb laughed every time they came by the window. It was cute!

After the zoo we went and put flowers on headstones. It is fun to hear stories about my relatives and get to know a little about them. Sometimes thinking about someone who was born in the 1800's isn't realistic, but seeing their place of burial makes me realize they were someone special and they were very real. I have an Grandma named Ann Zoolie Taylor and she died middle aged of hard work. How sad is that??

After that we went to Lucy's Pizzeria with my family--it was pretty good. After that we went to Sam's Club and bought our kids a trampoline. WE LOVE IT, it has become a permanent babysitter. We all have so much fun on it. We play on it every night for about and hour.

Sweet face of sheer joy!

So I am a dork....

It was my birthday on the 10th and I celebrated and celebrated and celebrated (And I didn't even take 1 single picture....)!!! On Friday night we dropped my kids off at my sisters house (I was really worried about Caleb-he has never stayed with her before) and Ben and I went and saw Iron Man 2, went to dinner at Red Robin and then went to Sundaes and had a YUMMY sundae! We had such a blast!!! Then on Saturday we went through the temple with Ben's little sister Stephanie. We were really excited for her, this will be a big step in her life.

Then on Sunday after church we went to Ben's families house and had lunch for Mother's Day. His grandparents were here from Mississippi and it was so much fun to see them. The luncheon was wonderful and YUMMY!!! THEN....Yes it continues, we went to My parents house from yet another luncheon. Again it was Delish! We got to spend it with my brother and his soon-to-be wife, Diana and her son Brody. They are getting married this Friday and we are SO EXCITED for them. 

By the way I just want to say how much I LOVE MY MOMS!! I have the BEST Mom and the BEST Mother-in-law! They do so much for me and give me the best advise! I love them more than words can describe!!

On Monday my Mom came down and took me shopping and to lunch. It was also YUMMY!!! Later that night Ben's family came over and had cake (Ben's Mom made my cake...Thank you)) and ice cream with us. Thank you EVERYONE for celebrating with me and wishing me birthday wishes!!!!

 And as for the being a dork part of my blog I have to brag about the GREAT deals I got today (at Albertsons and Wal-Mart). I got ALL of the below for $25.76 and I saved $92.99. I was thrilled!!!!!!

 I got:

5 Glade Sense and Sprays (2 of them were on clearance at Walmart for $1 and I had $4/1 coupons)

5 boxes of ice cream drumsticks

1 Mac and Cheese Homestyle dinner

1 Bottle of Olive Oil Mayo

2 bags of baked Tostitos

3 packages of cookies

1 bottle of Cheese dip

2 Large Dove Bars

2 boxes of Del Monte Fruit Chillers

 So that is my month in a nutshell....congrats if you made it through all that blibber blabber.....here is the best things of this post, my 2 little couponing buddies!