Saturday, December 21, 2013

San Antonio Zoo

Last week we headed to Texas and visited my parents, and then Nate and I went on our first cruise. I will get to the cruise later.
 
We had a free day, so we went to the San Antonio Zoo while Halle was home with Grandma. It was a nice zoo! We had a good time. Since it was a weekday, we had the place to ourselves.  
 
 


 
This is a Sun Bear. Also called a Honey Bear. Kind of cool, huh?
 


 
A two-headed turtle. Pretty cool, if you ask me. I wish I had two heads. I would never be lonely.




Friday, October 25, 2013

Beautiful Sunday drive

About 3 weeks ago, we went on a Sunday drive with our friends, the Beardall's. We drove east to the Bonneville dam and this place called the Vista house. It was beautiful!
 
 



Impromptu photo shoot







Wednesday, October 16, 2013

I love fall

 Today we went to the Harvest Festival at Willamette Valley Fruit/Pie Company in Salem, OR. We had such a fun time! I loved that place. There were a lot of activities for the kids to do, and they had a great time.


 
They had a factory where people were making all the pies. We took a couple home. Of course.
 





The corn pit


 
Yeah, that's probably not the cleanest place to lay down. She's still alive though, so that's good news.
 

 


Paige did the zip line


 


"Which one should I pick?"

 
 Halle looks so grown up in these pictures. I can't believe she's almost 18 months old!




After we got our pumpkins, we ate chicken pot pie and chili (the only actual meals they serve) and then this super tasty dessert...


 
It was vanilla ice cream, layered with their Mixed Berry Pie. YUM!

 
Such a cute place to visit!

A little decorating

So, I have to admit... I don't like renting. There. I said it. Yes, it is definitely nice not having to fix the big things that go wrong around the house, or having to pay for upkeep. But I just don't feel at home in our house. I know it's just something I need to "get over," but it's hard to feel unsettled and like everything is temporary. I'm not very motivated to organize my home, or to decorate it. But I finally did some decorating in our living room, and added some fall stuff around the house.
 
I should do a post where I show you our bedrooms. They are all just kind of sad, empty rooms. I know there is more to life than having a nicely decorated home, but when you spend about 22 hours a day in your home, you want it to look cozy and inviting. Right?
 
 I can't wait to own a home again and to feel more settled. I am impatiently waiting for that day.
 
 

 

This is Paige, mid-tantrum.


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

I made a wreath.

My crafts almost never turn out like I imagine, but oh well. I'm getting in the Halloween spirit, and decided to make this wreath by combining some ideas I saw on pinterest. It was fun to make, and I'm pretty happy with it.

 
Of course Paige wanted a picture with the wreath. :)
 

Friday, September 13, 2013

Freezer Meal Making

I am currently on a mission to stock up on freezer meals. You see, I usually don't plan dinners ahead of time. I'm more of a "Oh, it's 5:00. I should make dinner" kind of person. I'm trying to change that. I'm proud of the fact that I have 8 homemade meals in my freezer right now. That has never happened. My goal is to have about 20 in there within the next few weeks.

Along those lines, I am starting to think about baby #4, and when I think about that, my mind goes straight to the 8-10 week nausea and vomiting nightmare that will accompany my pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Halle, I kept thinking, How can I possibly do this again once I have 3 children? I'm going to need a nanny or something!

One of the hardest things about having morning sickness while taking care of children is feeding them. So I figure that if I have lots of good meals in the freezer, that will eliminate a big source of stress. Hopefully these meals I'm making will last a while in the freezer. I'm not sure when baby #4 will come along.

Anyway, I just thought I would share one of the tastiest freezer meals I've made. We all liked it! That doesn't happen very often. It's from Our Best Bites.


Click here for the link to the recipe.  Or see below...


Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

 1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese
small corn tortillas (flour ones are really good as well)  (I USED FLOUR TORTILLAS)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well. You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.
Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.  Roll up tortillas and place seam down on a baking sheet, not touching one another.  Spray lightly with cooking spray, or lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.  Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.  Dip in sour cream, or our favorite: Creamy Lime-Cilantro Ranch.

Freezer Instructions: Prepare the taquitos through rolling them out and placing them on the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until solid, then transfer to a large freezer bag. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 and place the taquitos on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Family pictures at Sauvie Island

A few weeks ago, a friend from our ward in Liberty Lake, who happens to be a super talented photographer, was in Portland and we were able to hire her for some family pictures! It had been close to 3 years since our last ones, so I was really excited to have them done. We met at Sauvie Island Farms, which is northeast of Portland. It's a beautiful area! I love how these turned out.
Thank you, Randi!