new hair

It was time for a change. So red it is. 

Dutch

Dutch is most definitely still a little trouble maker! She hides and paints the bathroom with toothpaste, she eats anything and everything that isn't food (especially animal fluff), and she draws on everything. But she is also the sweetest little girl ever! She is full of the sweetest compliments. She is always telling me how comfortable and beautiful everything is. At dinner, if she likes it, she will always say, "Mom don't forget that this is the most wonderful dinner ever!". It is the sweetest thing coming out of her little mouth because she can't say her R's and she is so sincere about it. She is always telling people how pretty they are and how great they look. "Kallie, I love your hairstyle today!" I just love her so much! She is a doll. 

It's snowing

This morning we woke up to three or four of inches of snow. It was everywhere! I park under a parking structure and my car was covered. Not just one side,  but the front, back, top, and both sides. The wind must have been blowing like crazy all night. So even though our little patio is covered it had accumulated enough snow for playing. My kids do not get to go outside and play in the snow very often because we don't have a fenced yard and I don't like to be in the snow/cold. This snow covered patio was the perfect opportunity for the little ones to go outside and play while Jackson was in school. I bundled them up right over their pajamas and sent them out. They had a blast. I don't know where the hat that Jett is wearing came from, but it is a bit ridiculous and oh so cute. 

story time

Our life has a pretty crazy schedule. Ben goes to school full time and works full time. That doesn't leave a lot of time for home. Some terms are better than others. His schedule this term isn't too bad. We get to see him every morning and every night right before the kids go to bed. There are a couple of other times during the week that we get to sneak an hour or two here and there. He is great about making the best of his time with the kids. He gives them all sorts of love and attention. He is pretty much the best dad! I think I have mentioned before that he has been reading Harry Potter to the kids. We love story time! Ben is a great reader! He does all the voices and gets very into it. It is so fun to listen to him and to watch the excitement in the kids. Mostly just Jackson. Dutch has a harder time sitting still and listening. Though her and Jackson play Harry Potter all day long and she seems to know a lot about it. I love that my kids love Harry Potter. They love books! Here are some pictures of the family at story time. I uploaded instagram to Ben's i phone and played with it for the first time. I like it.  

Can I wear this???

So I moved AGAIN. Moving is the pits and really stresses me out for a long time before and after. During this move our camera finally gave out completely. To me no camera means no blogging. My husband has i phone so that all of the big moments have been captured. I don't know how to easily get those pictures from there to here. Especially since it is with him all day long and I can't play with it to figure it out. On the other hand I do not have an i phone. But my phone does have a camera. I capture lots of kid moments on it but the quality is not great. And it takes a lot of work to get the pictures on to my computer, so it's not something I really do. I also use it to take pictures of myself and send them to my sisters to ask if what I am wearing is acceptable. You see, I used to live with my sister and I got used to her being right there to tell me. Now I am not sure. I want to be stylish yet age appropriate. I wouldn't mind being a bit daring but I get nervous and just can't do it sometimes without a little push. I thought it would be fun to share. I usually send the pictures to my sisters Katie and Kallie. Kallie almost always tells me no and Katie almost always tells me yes. She actually tells me that she wouldn't but that I can. So I put it to you. Can I wear this? The top two I wore. The rest I didn't.

I wasn't sure about the bright earrings with the bright scarf. I was wearing really bright shoes that had both colors in them. 

My new circle scarf that my friend made me. I love it!

You can also wear part of it as a hood if you want. I wouldn't wear it  inside. If I was outside and it was chilly could I add the hood? It's not like it would add  that much warmth, but in the appropriate setting could I wear this?

This is Ben's shirt. I've seen pictures of women wearing men's shirts, but I just am not sure.

                                      

If I were to wear it do I tuck it in or belt it?

Idaho

This summer we went to a family reunion in Idaho. Actually it was more like 3 family reunions. Every year in Fairfield, Idaho my mom's side of the family and my dad's side of the family have family reunions on the same weekend. I think every family that lives in that town has a family reunion on that weekend. It is the most exciting weekend in a very small, unexciting town. So many of my own family came that we did our own thing and had our own sort of family reunion. Fairfield is tiny and so are the events. On this same weekend they hold their county fair which includes a couple of bounce houses and a parade made up of family floats. They also close down the only paved road in town to have a street dance. As a teenager I thought that Fairfield was the least attractive place to be in the whole world. All I cared about was cute boys. And whenever I found a cute one he would end up being related to me in someway. So you can see how I felt like Fairfield had nothing to offer me. But now that I don't see my mom and my sisters nearly enough, this was the event of the year for me. It helps that I get to bring the hottest boy I've ever met with me. Gone are the days of crushing on boys that turned out to be my distant cousins. Now it's all about meeting new nieces and laughing with my family. It's about making new memories and reliving old ones. This was my dad's favorite place in the world. I want my husband and kids to be apart of this place. My kids loved it! They had a great time. They loved being with their cousins and grandma. We also went to Boise for a day. I had so much fun being with my family. 

Katie's babe Lydia with Grandma Jo

This pool was a hit

Jackson and his cousin Zack having a light saber fight

Blue eyed girls in blue towels

Dutch and Ava

Cute boys

It had been way too long since I had seen Katie

We talk on the phone almost everyday

Hayley and Jackson

My nieces Karlee and Whitney

My mom is always holding a baby whenever she can
Preferably the youngest
This is Kallie's baby Reese

Yummy ice cream beard and stach

My sister Erin

Kallie........always making a face

Sharing the love

Kallie's boy, Owen

My brother Dan came along for the ride
Apparently he takes after my Grandma Rena

super yummy and super easy

 I have been trying to be better in the kitchen. When I first got married everything I made came from a box.     Then I would add frozen chicken to whatever it was. I have slowly gotten better. More and more fresh ingredients and less boxes. Lately I have been trying lots of new recipes. This has been frustrating for me! I have put a lot of work into things that were almost inedible. I don't know if it is me or the recipe. I think sometimes it is both. When you aren't used to the ingredients it is hard to know what combinations actually sound good. I have also made some pretty good stuff. Some have become staples for me. To be a staple it needs to not only be good but also EASY and fast. I don't have enough time, energy, or money for things to be too complicated. To the point, I have A Rachael Ray cook book and in it is this super, yummy, easy recipe for buffalo turkey burgers. They are seriously so dang good! My kids even like them(without the hot sauce). So here it is. Try it! 

vegetable oil, for drizzling

1 package ground turkey(1 1/3 pounds)

1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 tablespoon grill seasoning such as McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 garlic cloves, chopped

4 scallions, finely chopped

1 celery rib from the heart, with greens, finely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot

crusty rolls, split

1 cup sour cream or ranch dressing

1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles

salt and pepper

leaf lettuce

Place a healthy drizzle of oil in a mixing bowl. Add the turkey, poultry seasoning, grill seasoning, garlic, scallions, and celery. Mix the burgers and form into 4 1-inch -thick patties.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and cook the burgers for 6 minutes on each side. Remove to plate.

Wipe the pan clean and reduce the heat to low. Melt the butter in the pan. Add the hot sauce to the melted butter. Return the patties to the skillet and turn to coat in the hot sauce-butter mixture. Place the burgers on bun bottoms.

In a small bowl, mix the sour cream or Ranch dressing with the blue cheese crumbles and season with salt and pepper. Top the burgers with lettuce and blue cheese sauce, then set the bun tops in place.

After the first time you make it, it becomes easier and cheaper. You already have the hot sauce, blue cheese and spices. I usually buy deli sourdough bread and toast it in the oven. It is very good. TRY IT!