FROM THE APPLE FARM TO THE ER IN 12 HOURS TIME

You just never know how any given day is gonna turn out.  This one for sure was off the charts and quite a memory maker.  Soooo many things to be thankful for along the way, but a shocker nonetheless.  

 Started off pretty innocently.  Once we found the apple orchard, it was two enthusiastic thumbs up. 

 Rob's adoring fans brace themselves for the speedy goodness.

 Well of course he recorded the whole thing.  What adrenaline junkie wouldn't?

 Right before the crash.  He crashed right where I was standing.  He says now that it was my glorious beauty that drove him into the barrier.  That's flat out blame-shifting for ya folks.

 We broke the boys in a couple times.  They were starting to forget what Daddy looked like.

 My big, strong husband was reduced to a hospital gown, oxygen tube, and epidural (at least one of us has experienced that).  Who knew a go-kart could cause so much damage? I'm an 8 again!!

 After 7 days we welcomed Daddy home with open (very gentle) arms and some signs.  We're super thankful for Jesus' provision and protection.  Also, our family and friends are the BOMB!!  Truly could not have managed without them.

THIS BABY TURNED 10 TODAY

 Jesus was smiling down on us the day our Jaydie was born.  Cannot believe he's 10!!!  Hurts my heart just a tad.  Why do I feel like crying right now?

This morning he says, "goodbye 9, hello 10!!"  He's a little too excited about it for my liking.  

Our Jaydie is...kind, loving, loyal, goofy, memorizer of many Bible verses, super duper builder of things, and my sweet baby.  The end

LEARNIN' STUFF

 This is where Daisy spends her homeschool days.  I swear she gets stepped on 12 times a day, and yet here she lays.  I guess she's not learnin' too much stuff.

 I'm learnin' how to juggle stuff as we are typically faced with one boy finishing before the other on a daily basis. 

You just sit there and look pretty Yenner.  Good job!

OH JAYDIE!!

Blogger has been so kind as to let me make my pictures big, I feel like posting everyday.  I'll try not to be all up in your grill like that though.  Here are some things that my almost 10 (how can I have a 10 year old when I'm only 22?) has been up to.  

 Designs By Jaydie will be coming to an etsy shop near you soon.  Both of these get-ups were lovingly made by our Jaydie.  He has a gift!! 

This is how our Jaydie loaded the dishwasher.  Pretty orderly even for my freakish standards.  I only made a couple minor adjustments so I could sleep that night.  Jaydie is such a blessin'!!  We are soooo thankful for him.

 

"HOMESCHOOL"

This was our homeschool lesson on how caged animals sometimes behave(okay, not really).  The boys were completely overcome with laughter during this photo shoot.  Yenner has a special knack for it, I think.  Caged animals indeed. 

PINTEREST STRIKES AGAIN

                                   Pepperoni Pizza Puffs adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray and Cassie Craves

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• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• pinch of salt (my addition, optional)
• pinch of red pepper flakes (my addition, optional)
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup cubed pepperoni
• 1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) ; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.
NOTE: All my batter did not fit into the 24-mini muffin pan. So I made a full size muffin with the leftover batter. Some pans are larger than others so you may not have have an issue.


This is the easiest most crowd pleasing thing I've made in awhile.  Who wouldn't like pizza bites, I mean really??  You could shake things up and add other pizza toppings you like.  Get on it!!  It came from this gal.

RANDOM, I KNOW

The boys have played with this toy more than any other and for the longest time. Who knew?
These probably don't look so appetizing but they were; and healthy too!! A big thanks to Pinterest for giving me more ideas than I could ever begin to try and thanks to my family for being my guinea pigs.
Ummm, yes please!!!
This is all part of training them up in the way they should go. See those color groups? I've never been so proud.
One of the many fun things the cousins taught us...arm farts. Such a blessin'!! I suppose it was in my boys' nature anyway and it would have come out eventually. Sorry to all the innocent bystanders that have had to endure hearing this.

DENIAL

I don't really want summer to end. I'm kinda in denial about it. One huge indicator that I should probably start school though, is that the boys have been bored to tears the last few days. Not sure how they can be bored considering all the amazing things we did this summer. And this is just the tip of the iceberg here.

Had a backyard spend the night with Daddy. There was fire involved, it was a complete success.
Went to Drytown with the cousins. Have I mentioned that place is a real stand up joint?
Did some slippin' and slidin' with some of our cute buddies.
Went to the beach several times. I could still fit a few more under my belt.

Did some boating where we actually got Nolie on the inner tube for the first time.

Had some pre-Halloween festivities.
Went to Lego land with the cousins where Rob was a little too excited about squirting the girl with the camera. That would be me.
I suppose I should just be thankful our summer was packed full of fun stuff. I just wanna be lazy a couple weeks more. They're smart enough, they don't need school, right?

WATER PARK-ING IT UP

The water park in Santa Clarita ain't as amazing as the Palmdale one, but it also doesn't cost an arm and a leg. It's a give and take situation folks.
I love this picture of little Nolie waiting in line with all the big kids for the high dive.
Yenner, living on the edge once again, decided to dive from the high one. No fear here.
It was a little heat-y and bright. I think that's why Rob's eyes look like slits.

S'MORES COOKIES

I can't remember where I found this recipe, but it wasn't from the link on here. Hers look much more official than mine did. Doesn't really matter though when you're stuffing your face with them. I will definitely make them again. It's not often Rob says, "I think I have a new favorite."

S'mores Cookies
Source: Ice Cream Before Dinner

11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces
1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper. I used one 11x17 pan and one 9x13 pan but you can really use any sized pans you want.

Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching). I used 16 graham cracker squares on one pan and 10 squares on another. You may have to add or remove graham crackers according to how much dough you have. If you want your cookies thicker you will use more dough and less graham crackers.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.

Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour to overnight (I did one batch right away and another after chilling overnight and found there was no difference.)

Place tablespoons of dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. I averaged about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per graham cracker square as seen in the picture above. Press down slightly with fingertips.

Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.

Bake for 5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.

I CANNOT THINK OF A TITLE

I wore this little beauty in 10th grade. What was I, a size zero? It's amazing what 30 years and a few carbs will do to ya. You will be happy to know that I am no longer hoarding this. I donated it to a good cause. Is this growth...I think so!!
TV time with the besties.
Went "hiking" out at The Oaks one day. I am NOT a hiker. And of course, there's always got to be one child holding himself. Ahhhh, life with four boys.
These here are s'mores cookies and they are little bites of heaven if you ask me (or my boys).
Here's a little goodie Hal gave me. It's the most wonderful thing I never knew I always wanted. Vanity, I know, but it just really speaks to me.

MAKE THIS

It is NICE, and it's from this gal.

Creamy Taco Mac

Posted in Main Dish, Pasta, Quick/Weeknight Meals

Creamy Taco Mac
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Ingredients:
1¼ lbs. ground turkey
8 oz. dry pasta shapes
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
4 tbsp. taco seasoning
3 oz. cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
Salt and pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground turkey over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the turkey is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the turkey is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Mix in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit. Remove from the heat and top with shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.

Source: adapted from Delish

SUMMER STUFF

Jaydie was inspired by VBS and their Mr. Roboto character. As soon as he got home he went to work and actually made suits for the brothers too. Now, Mr. Roboto was actually the bad guy. Should I be concerned?
Jaydie also fell on his death board, I mean rip stick, and sprained his wrist we think. So he walks around with his hand in the air (and waves it around like he just don't care. Sorry, there are always lyrics in my head).
Here's our pitiful excuse for water play. The boys are officially saving up for a pool, and also a two story house. Our single story just isn't cutting it for them.
Turns out it's fun to grow stuff. Here's our tallest sunflower which is actually taller than me.

LOST WAGES PART 2

I found it odd how as I walked through this store I thought, "maybe I do need an mnm slot machine."

Next stop, the Diet Coke store. We tasted 16 different sodas from around the world. I'm fairly certain the vomity feeling I had later that day came from Italy's.
Elvis IS alive. I saw him, or them.
Spent a good amount of time at Bass Pro. That place is neat-o and free!!

HOLIDAY IN SIN CITY

Rob's workout during vacay was a consistent regimen of throwing the boys. That's almost 200 lbs of pure fun people.





If you're gonna be in Sin City in July then you're gonna have to be in the water ALOT!! The boys were beyond happy to stay there all day.