I planned my meals, I wrote my grocery list, and got everything we needed last Friday, but unfortunately while planning that list I forgot a few important things, like Trae's medicine, toilet paper, and toothpaste. All the basic necessities, well they are if you want a clean behind, clean teeth, and want Trae to have the tools to concentrate in school. So, I sadly already broke my promise and went to the store, but that's okay because I will just jump right back on my no shopping band wagon.
The family reunion this past weekend was better than I could have ever imagined. I think everyone was having a hard time going so long between visits, and we all agreed to now make this a yearly tradition. I'm all for it. It seems that when you haven't seen people in so long you just want to make sure you can say hello to everyone, but you never have enough time to hear all their stories. Hopefully, with facebook, blogs, and now with the collection of email addresses we can stay connected.

Me. Trae took this picture & we can definitely tell I am camping.




















Cami & Jesicca playing tennis




















Mason & Jesicca checking out the pictures they took.




















Trae wanted the full experience of fishing with the guys and so hopped in the river with them.




















Jamison skips constantly, even while playing tennis.




















Jamie walking back from his little fishing excursion.




















Mason posing with his golf club and ball.
















Cami, Gage, Tyler, Jesicca, and Ali fishing at the kiddie pond.














Jamison




















Trae




















Mason helping Daddy. Guess he figured he would need to be a super-hero to do it.

Sorry, I got a little picture happy while uploading them, but I'm thinking you can just skip over the ones that don't interest you.
I am so sad that summer is coming to an end, but we had a fabulous weekend to end it. We headed up to East Canyon to do some camping and dragged along my cousin and her family with us. Saturday for us girls and the kids was spent in the trailer because of the rain. All I can state is that all children lived and were unharmed during this day. Our guys disappeared for the majority of this day fishing and I hear, had a really great time. They bonded...
Sunday was cloudy and a bit chilly, but after breakfast we drove up to the kiddie fishing pond. I think Tyler did the most fishing, but who's telling. The poor kids didn't catch much, but Tyler let his kids reel in the two that he caught. The first one he tried to get little Gage to pose with, but Gage caught on to what Daddy was going to hand him and ran for his little life.
We were able to enjoy ourselves and got some swimming in, way too cold for these old bones, a round of miniature golf, if you can call it a round with a bunch of children running around pushing balls every which way, and some tennis. The day was all about having fun and spending time outside.
Mason woke Jamie and I up several times Sunday night with his hollering. He kept yelling "Mom?" I asked him if he needed me to tuck him back in. He didn't respond and so I started to doze back off when he yelled "Mom, yes, tuck me in." I of course got up, got him all situated and went back to sleep. Once again I hear him yelling "Mom". I yell back "What?" (just picture Louise from The Family Guy ~ never see the show, but I have a ring tone where Stewie keeps yelling at Louise until she finally blows up and yells What) He yells back "Mom, catch me a fish. I can't catch one." By this time Jamie is awake and we both just giggled over this. He remembered in the morning and brought it up that I needed to catch him a fish. I am still not sure if he was remembering the kiddie pond or if this was all in his dream.
All in all, we had a great time and it was fun to have friends to enjoy the outdoors with. Hopefully, they will want to come with us again and can get used to our bossy OCD natures... okay, okay, my bossy OCD nature.
I wanted to share an incident with Mason. I was lecturing Jamison on how he needs to follow the rules and put his dirty dishes in the sink after he is finished because I am not his slave and am not going to do it for him anymore. Mason turns from the computer screen to look at us and says "yeah, because she is my slave."
Well, that's all I have for now. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

Cornflake Cookies

We love cookies at our house, especially chocolate chip, but because of Trae's allergies we end up paying $7.98 for chocolate that Trae is able to eat for each batch of cookies. Not very economical and they are now sadly reserved for special treats. I'm always in search of a yummy cookie that doesn't call for chocolate chips. I think we have found a winner with these cornflake cookies. They are now one of my favorite cookies. Beware of eating too many due to a tummy ache and calories. ;)

1 C butter
1 C vegetable oil, we use canola
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 C crushed cornflakes
1 C chopped nuts (optional, we don't do nuts either)
1 C quick-cooking oats
3 1/2 C flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, sugar, egg, and then add in oil.
Mix in dry ingredients.
Form dough into walnut sized balls and flatten with fork.
Bake in 325* oven for 10-12 minutes.

I'm sitting here trying to remember all the hilarious things my boys have said to me in the past week, but I'm drawing a blank. My brain just doesn't want to cooperate this morning.
I've been making goals for Jamie and I in regards to money and how much of it we have been spending. I'm realizing that the store has become my friend. It's so lovely to wander down the isles and see all the new products and contemplate what to buy next, but then you find you have lost sight of your budget, as we have, and just buy what you want, when you want, and the item doesn't seem as special as it once would have been when you waited to make that purchase of want.
Anyway, as any addict would say, "It has been 9 days since my last purchase." Haha! I'm going to be forcing my way into my cousin's head and having her explain to me how she can possibly make it an entire month without stepping foot into a store. I'm so excited to learn from her.
The boys had a great first week of school and seem to be fitting in. They enjoyed their week of no homework and played their little hearts out with friends. Mason and I spent Friday picking tomatoes, peppers, and onions out of our little garden. We made salsa and spaghetti sauce with our bounty.
We had a busy past weekend. Saturday was spent in the house, cleaning and folding laundry. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to watch my semi-girly movie during my laundry folding time. Instead, I was forced to watch kungfu. I despise kungfu. Someone mentioned that I should learn kungfu and then I would be able to convince Jamie that we will be watching the movie of my choice. I may dwell on this suggestion.
Sunday was spent in our poor neglected yard and it is looking amazing again. I am loving all the flowers that are still blooming and making our backyard looks so happy. The boys ran in the sprinklers and had swordfights with the swimming noodles. We all played in the pool and Jamie threw the boys in the air and wrestled with them. We finished our day with bbq ribs. Jamie knows how to make a tender, yummy rib.

Jeff & Mason surfing the pool.
Love Mason's little toes sticking up over the board.














Trae and Jamison were jumping off the side of the pool
trying to "surf". So funny watching them.































Today was the first day of school for the boys. Everything went so smoothly this morning. No fighting or whining, organized, and on time. I wish it was like this every morning, but I won't be holding my breath. Life would be too easy if it was this simple, but boy would I enjoy it. So far they are enjoying their teachers and hopefully, it will stay that way.
We had our last shindig at the Stubb's home and enjoyed ourselves immensely. They cooked us hamburgers and brought out the ice cream cones after wards. Everything was wonderful. The highlight for the kids was when "Jeff-fa-fa" came to play. He is like a big kid himself and entertained them all.
Saturday was soccer camp for Jamison and Mason. They learned some new skills that are going to help them for this upcoming soccer season. I can't wait to watch the boys play, especially Mason, who is at such a fun age to watch.
Had plans for Sunday, but unfortunately, I was down for the count, dang herniated disc anyway. So instead the boys watched a ton of movies on the xbox from netflix and didn't even bother to get dressed. I'm sure they enjoyed that more than all the chores and deep cleaning of their rooms and closets that I had originally planned.
So there is our life in a nutshell, at least for the past couple of days.

Thai-Style Ground Beef

I found this recipe, tried it and liked it. I think I was hesitant to try it because of the strange ingredients, but I was limited on time and refusing to head out to the grocery store where I knew I would buy more than I needed. So here it is, let me know what you think.

1 lb ground beef
onion, diced
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp curry or red curry paste
1 can tomato sauce
1 can coconut milk
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp grated lime rind (I don't always have a lime on hand & will use 1/2-1 tsp lime juice)
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce or asian fish sauce

Brown ground beef and onion over med-high heat.
Stir in remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
We serve this over hot, cooked white rice. (2 C rice/ 4 C water)

Mason & Ellie curled up on the bed after a long day
of going to the park, on a hike, to the park, on a walk,
to the park, to the park, on a walk..... phew, we were
tired.















Jamison and Grandpa fishing at the kiddie pond.
Grandpa couldn't help himself and took over Trae's
ditched fishing pole. It was too late in the day and the
fish were not interested in us at all.















I forgot to post this picture with the others from the
Dinosaur Museum outing. Grandpa decided to cut his
own hair and Grandma ended up finishing it for him.
We had a good laugh over his suntan lines on his head
from where his hair used to lay. This man has had the
same haircut for as long as I can remember. What a
shocker to see his bald head!

Last night Jamie and I went in search of a new kitchen faucet. Who knew it would be so hard to pick one? There are just a few styles and not many colors, but in the end I picked the one that was a little different. It matches my overhead lights, which is a plus in itself. I didn't want to get a new faucet until I redid my countertops, but I guess when you break it, you have to replace it. And I'm the one that broke it. I do have to say that Jamie should take some of the blame, but he'll say my hand was on that faucet when it broke and so it is my fault.
Jamie and I have this ongoing spanking war going. At times it wanes and at times it is going strong... last night it was on! It was on until Jamie decided to cheat, by picking me up and trying to put my butt into the kitchen sink. He then reached behind me to turn on the faucet and I decided I was having none of that. I grabbed hold of the faucet to keep him from pulling it out to spray me and the dang thing broke right off in my hand. Needless to say the water came spraying straight out and soaked me more than I would have gotten soaked from the sprayer. So there is my story, it might be a had to be there story, but I can tell you that I laughed until I cried. Poor faucet.

We've had such a busy week and boy, did we play hard. Trips to the park, the Dinosaur Museum, swimming, and of course all the games played on the wii. Mas had a few "tea parties" on a piece of cardboard in the middle of the kitchen floor (he of course served guns with his refreshments). I was entertained by Auty's and Jamison's game of pretend of being on an island at the park. They had to avoid such obstacles as hot lava, and a bridge that was near ready to collapse. I was pleasantly surprised by how much time the boys spent building mini dinosaur cities out of water and sand at the play tables in the dinosaur museum. So glad that Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Brett, and Aunt Cynthia went with. Made our adventure all the more fun!
I was lucky enough to go grab coffee with my dear friend ,Ashley before they left Saturday morning. Who knew the coffee shop was open so late and the reason the doughnuts are so expensive there is because they are so darn good! We will miss spending time with our friends, but happy that we have unlimited calling between us. haha!

Jamison had 4 teeth pulled and Trae had 3 teeth pulled a few days ago. After the teeth were pulled, Jamison had his top and bottom spacers put in and Trae had his top spacer put back in. Poor guys are not liking life and Mama is getting sick of mashed potatoes.














One of their last playdates before the big move. The kids had a hard time going with out Auty coming over the past few days, not sure what they are going to do when she has moved. Gonna miss our girl.













I have been dying to get a picture of these flowers in my garden, but their blooms are so short lived that it has been hard. Finally, this morning I captured one. So beautiful!

Costa Vida/ Cafe Rio Sweet Pork copycat recipe

I love both Costa Vida and Cafe Rio Sweet Pork burritos. Could eat them everyday, but unfortunately, because of Trae's allergies I don't get the opportunity to go there often. Here is a recipe I found to get that yummy stuff at home.

4-6 lbs pork roast (butt/shoulder works well)
19 oz. can red enchilada sauce
1 can or 20 oz Dr Pepper (NOT diet, I usually double this: see below)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 C brown sugar

You can cook this 2 different ways; crockpot or oven.
Crockpot: Place roast, dr pepper, salt, garlic salt in crockpot and cook on High for 4-6 hours. Take out of crockpot and shred. I usually will dump out the juices in the crockpot before putting the shredded meat back in. Pour Dr pepper, brown sugar and enchilada sauce on top and cook on high for another 30 minutes.
Oven: Season meat as desired and wrap in foil. Cook in 275* oven for 5 hours. Pull meat out and allow to cool slightly. While it cools mix remaining ingredients together. Shred meat and pour sauce on top and mix.
Serve on salad or in tortillas with beans and your favorite toppings.

Roy Days 2009

I've been having nightmares for a week over this BBQ that we would be throwing this weekend. Last year I had to become not a nice person to keep control of the situation. This year was so much different. We had an amazing time, and I was reminded last night that we have some really great friends. So thank you guys!
We sat in the backyard most of the evening chatting things up while the kids swam and wrestled in the pool. Autumn brought out her "new phone" to show the adults and I'm afraid that there were many of us that fell for her trickery. Her new phone had a horrible side effect of shocking you, locking your hand around the dang thing, until you could finally fling it away from you. Gave us all a good laugh, as long as you were not the one holding the phone.
Later in the evening we sang happy birthday to our friend, Jessica, and pulled out the birthday cake that her husband had enlisted me to order for her. She was completely taken by surprise and had even thought her husband had forgotten. What a good guy!
We finally meandered out to the front, after our stop in the kitchen to let the guys show off their bellies. Very impressing manliness there. Jamie tried to impress us all with his golfing skills in the front yard, but unfortunately it was just a lot of fluff and dug up grass.
The fireworks were our grand finale and we are so lucky that we are able to enjoy them from our front yard. The evening was bittersweet because we will be saying good bye to our long time friends as they move on to their next journey to Colorado in 7 days. It seems that no matter where we lived, the other has followed until now. It will be hard not having them a hop, skip, and a jump away.