Summer Fun in January?

Here's us enjoying the benefits of living in California (in the winter). It was such a warm and sunny day on Saturday, so we decided to take the kids out to practice riding bikes. Jordan made a "new years resolution" to ride her bike without training wheels this year, so we thought she better practice. Kya and Tyson got a little practice it too!

You know what I love?

I love old people at the gym. It is so motivating, so impressive, and so encouraging!

Simple Goodness

I just thought I would post some REALLY fast and easy (and yummy too) recipes that I have aquired lately. With three little ones and a million things to do, these have been a life saver for me. Enjoy.

BBQ Pork Chops

Ingredients
8 pork chops
1 bottle of BBQ sauce

Directions
Spread a thin layer of barbeque sauce on the bottom of a slow cooker. Alternately layer pork chops with barbeque sauce, pouring the remainder of the bottle over the top of the final layer of chops. Cook on HIGH setting for 3 to 4 hours, or all day on LOW setting

*I use this in hamburger buns like sloppy joes or the kids like it over rice too

Aloha Chicken

Ingredients
4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 (8 ounce) cans pineapple chunks
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Hot cooked rice

Directions
Flatten the chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. Place flour in a large resealable plastic bag; add chicken and shake to coat. In a skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in oil for 3-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup juice. (Discarding remaining juice or save for another use.) In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and reserved juice until smooth. Add to skillet. stir in honey, teriyaki sauce and pepper. Boil for 30 seconds or until thickened. Add pineapple and chicken; heat through. Serve over rice

Simple Oven Fries

Ingredients
3 large baking potatoes (I usually use 5)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Cut each potato lengthwise into eight wedges (I sometimes cut them into tiny cubes and make hashbrowns--the kids love them). In a large bowl, combine the oil, salt, paprika and pepper; add potato wedges and toss to coat.
Place in a single layer on a greased baking sheet (I put them on parchment paper and it works much better). Bake at 450 degrees F for 20 minutes. Turn potatoes; bake 10 minutes longer or until golden brown.

Pizza, Pie and Chinese Food

My diet kind of came to a screaching hault over Christmas, then it was New Years, and now--well I really have no excuses. I don't know about the rest of you who are trying to "watch your weight" but for me, it is so hard to get back into dieting when I've taken a break. Another hard thing about it is that Mike is out of town. When he is gone, it is harder to prepare those nice healthy meals because the kids often refuse to eat them. So instead I am making, fish and chips, pizza, grilled cheese etc., not quite so healthy. Well it is time to buckle down--wish me luck!

Just a laugh

A lesson to be learned from typing the wrong E-mail address:

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years before. Because of their hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minneapolis and flew to Floridaon Friday, and his wife was flying down the following day. The husband checked into the hotel, and unlike years ago, there was a computer in his room , and he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her E-mail address, and without noticing his error, sent the email to the wrong address. Meanwhile ... somewhere in Houston ... a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory after suffering a heart attack.

The widow decided to check her E-mail, expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and then fainted. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on thefloor, and then glanced up and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Date: Friday, October 13, 2005
Subject: I have arrived!

Dearest Love: I know you are surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now, and you are allowed to send E-mail to your loved ones. I have just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow, and look forward to seeing you then. Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.
PS ... It sure is hot down here

Be Thou Humble...Drive the Nova

During my growing up years, my family didn't always drive the nicest car. There was a time during my adolescence when the family car was a Chevy Nova. The car was not that bad (thinking about it now) and I think my Mom was annoyed that we loathed it so much (since it belonged to her parents and they "gave" it to us). Anyways, we made a list of "101 Things Wrong With the Nova" and mocked it constantly. I remember one time on the way home from church Dad started singing "Be thou humble, drive the Nova" (any of you who are LDS know the tune that goes with that song). It was a seriously funny moment for our family--at least for me.

Well Mike took our Jeep this morning on his business trip and left me with our less-than cute Camry. Don't get me wrong--I wouldn't be embarrassed to drive any Camry, just ours. When we got our Jeep, the Camry went to Mike, and he has been anything but diligent in keeping it nice. The paint is dull and pealing--really pealing, a hubcap is missing, one door doesn't open from the inside, there is no CD player or AC.... As I drove it to church today I just kept singing to myself "Be thou humble, drive the Camry"

(If you can get past my hair, jeans, and of course the socks--hey I was 14, you can see the Nova behind me)

I'm going to be late...again.

When I was a teenager, I had a creative writing class where I wrote some pretty bad poetry. One of the poems I wrote was about "waiting". I think it was a complaint about how I had to wait in the car for my mom or sister one day. Back in those days, I had NO IDEA what waiting was all about.

It seems like almost every night I get a call around 5 or 5:30pm with the news "I am going to be a little late tonight". No matter how often I hear it, it never gets easier. Sometimes I feel like I spend my whole life waiting for Mike to get home from work. It doesn't help that I have two girls asking "when is Daddy coming home?"--not to mention that they start this at around 9am! It is especially hard when a bussiness trip is coming up. Somehow, I feel like he should take a whole week off to make up for the time he's gone, instead he has to work extra long hours before and after a trip to make up for the time he's gone.

I am so jealous when I hear families actually going on vacation together--for longer than a weekend. My hubby didn't even take New Years off--and only one day for Christmas too. I think the whole thing would be a lot easier if I didn't have a needy-whiney two-year-old who is always crying and following me around so I can't do ANYTHING.

Okay, that's all the venting I need to do for now. Just to let you know, Mike is going to be late tonight and he is going out of town all next week--and he just called to ask if he could take "my" car on the trip...grrr.

Happy New Year!!

Well 2008 is here--can you believe it?! We had a little party for the kids with hats, noise makers, Christmas crackers, and we did the count down at 8pm. The kids were really into it--we'll have to do a "real" party next year. Here are a few of our resolutions:

Jordan--Remember to brush teeth every morning

Kya--Try to taste vegetables with dinner every night (Mom and Dad had this idea, but it already hasn't been too successful)

Mom--Run 4 miles without stopping

Dad--Help with cleaning the house more (what a great husband)

Happy New Year Everyone!!