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. :)

 

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.

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!

Labor Day weekend in Spokane

We headed to Spokane last Thursday and had a fun weekend with Nate's family. On the way there, we stopped at Multnomah Falls because Paige was thirsty...

 

On Friday we rented a boat with Nate's family and had a fun day of swimming, tubing, surfing, etc. We spent that day at Hayden Lake, which is near Coeur d'Alene. It's a beautiful lake.

 

 Nate's brother, Brandon with the kids

 Nate's parents: Bev and Court

Paige and her cousin, Ally

 

I love Paige's face.

 

 

Captain Halle

 

 

 

 

Nate's brother, Derek 

 

 

 

 

 

Nate surfing! All the boys talked about how easy surfing behind the boat was, so I tried. And tried. And tried. I couldn't get up! I choked on a couple gallons of water, and that was really fun, but I felt like a failure. Next time I will succeed!

On Saturday we went to the Liberty Lake Farmer's Market. We got some fresh honey, veggies, and bread. 

 

 

 

Then we hiked around Coeur d'Alene Lake and swam at the beach.

 

 

Such a fun weekend!  We sure miss Spokane.

Paige's first day of 1st grade

Paige started 1st grade today. She has 2 teachers: Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Bjerkman. They seem like nice ladies. Paige hasn't been all that excited to go back to school, unfortunately. I think it's mostly because none of her close friends from kindergarten are in her class, so she was nervous that she wouldn't have any friends.

 

She was pretty nervous once we got to her classroom.

 

Luckily the little girl sitting across from her was in her kindergarten class and she's a sweet girl, so I think that made Paige feel a little better. I really think she will be just fine after she gets used to her new class. It's hard having her gone all day though!

Kate's first day of preschool

Kate started preschool yesterday. She will be there 2 days a week for 3 hours. She has been really excited about going and we've been counting down the days, but when it came time to go in, she was pretty scared. She wanted me to stay. Luckily, she got distracted pretty quickly and she ended up having fun. I think it will be really good for her. She has a hard time watching Paige get to do everything, so I'm glad that she gets this special time just for her.

 

 

She LOVES having her own backpack. She has tried to sleep with it on several times. So cute.

Getting nervous to go in

"I don't want to go. I'm scared."

"I get to hang up my backpack!"

"...And wash my hands with hand sanitizer!"

 

"Toys!"